Third Element
by TheStarr
Summary: Werewolves, vampires... but doesn't trouble come in threes? Old alliances are tried and new ones are made when an unknown force threatens the safety of werewolves and vampires alike. Don't forget to REVIEW!
1. Prologue

*Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is originally from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series

_**Prologue**_

_She was in a clearing surrounded by a dark fog, thick and black. Everything seemed... unreal, like in a dream; but she knew it couldn't be, because she never slept. Her senses were dulled, making her feel vulnerable; which was just as impossible as sleeping, she never felt vulnerable, defenseless, inferior. This couldn't be happening, it was impossible._

_The fog shifted, moved; there was something there, something powerful, something more dangerous than she. For the first time she could remember, she felt afraid; totally unnerved by her surroundings. She whirled around, but nothing was there. She was sure that someone, something, was there. Something flashed by her, behind and to the right, again she turned; only to switch direction, and look back to her left. She shivered; there was more than one. She felt cold; which was also wrong, she never felt hot or cold, or anywhere in-between... Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong._

_She felt something behind her, but this time she waited, then slowly, cautiously, she turned to face it. It was massive, bigger than any animal had a right to be; it could only be one thing, but that didn't make sense, nothing made sense. She couldn't see it clearly, only a dark shape in the fog. Then it started moving toward her, slowly drawing nearer, she glimpsed it's thick, long fur; then she saw it's eye's; she stumbled backward, then froze. She could feel it's eyes holding her, eye's so full of malevolent loathing and despite; and anger... Terrified , she broke free and ran. _

_She ran blindly, not bothering to look where she was going, but she didn't have to look to know. She couldn't hear it's footsteps, but that only made her run all the faster; she knew it was coming. Her breath came in gasps and her legs weren't functioning properly; everything was wrong, and she knew that it had something to do with- No, it couldn't be them, this thing was bigger than any of them, and it's scent... A movement caught her eye, she tried to see what it was; and as she twisted her neck around, she felt the ground give way beneath her. Off balance, she fell; hard. Winded, she lay there, face down on the damp forest floor; eyes closed, she tried to wish it all away: the terror, the trees, the fog, the-_

_She rolled over onto her back, and stopped. Massive paws were inches away from her feet, her gaze traveled up it's legs to it's chest, and on to it's neck, taking in every detail. She didn't want to see it's eyes again; but she ended up gazing into them all the same. It leaned closer to her, never breaking eye contact; if she had a heart it would have stopped. All she could see was glittering amber as the creature's eyes seemed to fill her vision; malice, loathing, despite, anger, frustration, anguish, torment, longing and despair washed over her, drowning out all thought. _

_When her vision cleared, it was gone as if it had never been. Scrambling to her feet, she began to look for traces it might have left behind. She was just about to leave when she saw it, a single track; the only trace it had left for her to find, and as she looked at it, it too, vanished. It obviously wasn't a wolf... _

When she regained consciousness, she reached for her phone, ignoring her family's worried stares; nothing could make her postpone this phone call.


	2. Moving Sucks

*Disclaimer: I'm not Stephanie Meyer, I've just borrowed a few of her character for this story that sprung from my wildly out of control imagination.

Note: It's gonna take quite a few chapters before it gets good, (I have to 'set the stage' so to speak) and some of it might not make sense at first, but keep reading :) btw, this chapter is written from Fae's POV, and she calls her brother Ken in her thoughts (it's short for his first name, Kenric; he goes by his middle name, Trey.) but she calls him Trey when she talks. (kinda like Bella always called her dad 'Charlie' in her thoughts, but when she talked to him, she called him 'Dad'.)

**Chapter One**

_Moving sucks._

As the car rolled to a stop, I opened my eyes and looked around, taking in the dreary clouds, the drizzling rain, and the wet landscape. I sighed when I heard the driver's side door open and shut and opened my door and climbed out of the car.

"Well, there's no lack of rain, apparently." Ken commented wryly. "There probably hasn't been a drought here since dinosaurs roamed the earth." Shaking my head, I turn to look at the house. This is what we left home for, a big house with everything my parents can give us to try and make up for what we left behind, and trees; lots an lots of big, tall, stupid trees! Is this strange land even inhabited by anything intelligent besides me and my family? Or are trees all we're going to have for company? Disgusted, I put my hands in my pockets and leaned back on the car, only to jerk upright immediately; the car was just as wet as the landscape.

"I take it that you come from a dryer climate."

What the? I turn around to find a fairly large group of what could only be 'natives'. They were all tall, dark skinned and dark haired; Native Americans?

"Nah, ya think? Who are you anyway?" I asked, well, demanded really.

"Just friendly neighbors, come to see if you need any help." The one who spoke was a tall, broad shouldered man. "We helped build your house, and we came to make sure that you and your family got settled in properly. Besides that, not many people are new to La Push."

"Thanks, we could use the help..." Ken answered. His voice trailed off when he noticed that I was walking away.

"Hey! Fae, get back over here, you can't just walk away without saying hi, or introducing yours-" I turned around to glare at him.

"Really? That's nice. But I really don't feel like it, and I'd really rather be inside when it starts raining again." Ken just crossed his arms and glared back.

"Fae..." I smirked at him

"Hi, my name is Kittiara Fae. Bye bye now." I turn and head back to the house.

"Oh Fae..." I paused.

"Yeessss?" I said, not bothering to turn around.

"Aren't you forgetting something?..."

"Uh... No?"

"Like proper introductions?"

"Really? No way." I said, turning to face him.

"I rue the very day I laid eyes on you."

"Yup, couldn't have said it better myself."

"You have got to be the singularly most stubborn person I have ever met." He sighed, running a hand through his hair in agitation. He was annoyed now, and I was enjoying every minute; this was our first 'argument' since... wow, I hadn't realized it had been that long.

"You should look in the mirror when you say that." I saw quite a few grins amongst the 'natives'.

"Are you going to cooperate or not?"

"I'll give you..." I glanced at my wrist. "... one minute. Start talking." Sighing, he turned back to the visitors and shrugged. All of them were grinning, amused by our banter I suppose. A few even chuckled a bit. I sighed and started tapping my wrist. More chuckling.

"My name is Trey." Ken said. "And I have a myriad of nick-names that my siblings have given me, so don't be surprised when you hear them."

* * *

After they finished the introductions, I grabbed my travel bag and headed for the house; I wanted to see it before we started bringing all our stuff in. I went upstairs to explore a little. As I walked down the hall, something caught my eye; I stood there, totally shell-shocked. They went to _this_ extent to try and make us happy here!!!!! I stepped toward the door, knowing that I must be dreaming. As soon as I entered, though, I knew I wasn't. I couldn't believe that they had stooped _this_ far, to try and gain favor. They knew that I would totally love this.

"Pretty cool, huh? Your parents got you all set up with the best." I turned to see one of the 'natives' standing there, Dakoda, I do believe. He sounded nice, not that it mattered, but for some reason, for no reason, I was suddenly furious.

"They only did it to try and make us like it, to make ME like it. That's the ONLY reason. And I'm not about to be won over by my own recording studio." I was on a roll now. "I can't believe they tried to buy me. It's not going to work!" He was smiling, obviously amused.

"Why do you think that? How do you know that they weren't just trying to be nice?" I turned on him

"Uhh... If they were going to be nice, why didn't they just add one on to our old house? Why didn't they just let me stay with my friends there? Why did they have to choose some little bitty town in the middle of NOWHERE? If they really cared, I wouldn't be here."

"Too bad, this is a nice place." He said with a shrug. Great. Why can't I ever say the right thing?

"Why'd you come up here anyway?"

"Just wondered where you had gotten to, didn't want you to get lost. You want a tour?" I rolled that around in my head for a sec, trying to figure out if he was just being nice, or if he wanted to get on my good side because he thought I was good looking. If it was the latter, he would be disappointed; I wasn't looking to get involved in _any_ relationships of _**that**_sort any time soon.

"Sure, why not?" We left the studio and went down the hall.

"That door" He said, pointing to one only slightly farther down the hall from the studio's door. "belongs to a closet, this one to the master bath, and the next to the master bedroom." He said, pointing them out as we walked down the hall.

"Question: does the door belong to the room, or does the room belong to the door?" I queried, grinning mischievously "Or is it neither?"

"We're not sure, neither of them will talk to us, so we haven't been able to figure it out." He was grinning now, too; both of us enjoying our little joke. We were both at ease; and I found it odd; making friends usually took me awhile, it had never been this easy. I blinked, surprised at myself. I already considered him a friend? How very interesting, I really did.

"This is the office, and this is the project room." We walked up another flight of stairs to the third floor. This must be where the all the bedrooms were. He stopped at the first door on the right and opened it.

"This, I believe, would be your room." He stepped aside so I could get through.

* * *

As the unpacking wound down we all gathered in the kitchen for dinner, laughing and joking as they waited in line to eat; more people had arrived since this morning, and they brought us dinner, and it looked like enough to feed the entire town of La Push. On second thought, it looked like the entire town of La Push was in our house. I paused in the doorway observing the room, picking out which faces I recognized, and which ones I didn't. It looked like everyone was here, I must be the last one to come in the room. A burst of laughter came from the living room just as I finished filling my plate; so that's where we're going to eat, and a good thing too, this room was too crowded.

"Hey Fae! Come join the fun!" Ken, of course; he was usually in the middle of everything. Smiling, I walked toward his group, but the smile didn't quite reach my eyes; I was not in the mood for this, and from the look in Ken's eye, he knew it. I was in a room full of strangers, and Ken was the only reason I hadn't gone off and found somewhere I could eat alone; and he knew that too, that's why he'd called to me, to keep me from leaving. And since he had called my name, people had turned to look; since there was no chance of me being able to go off and eat on my own, I joined him.

Review, review, review!


	3. Not A Toy

*Disclaimer: I own none of Stephanie's characters, but all the ones that aren't her's are MINE!

Note: Btw, the reason they didn't pack furniture, is that their parents had the house built and fully furnished before they moved. And you'll meet a lot of my characters in this chapter, whose parents will be familiar...

Oh! And I got my first review! *dances around the room* Yay! Thank you FrozenBloom! This chapter is dedicated to you :)

**Chapter Two**

_I hate being treated like a new toy._

"It's a good thing that you guys didn't pack furniture, if you had it would have taken us FOREVER to unload!" I didn't recognize him, but then I didn't recognize most of the people here; a lot more people had arrived since this morning.

"So, what's your status gorgeous?" Great, a real lady's man, just what I needed. NOT!!!!

"C'mon Jase, she just moved; she's gotta be single." Great, he brought his Gang of Goons with him. After giving Ken an 'you had better have a good reason for dragging me into this' glare, I asked:

"Who are these wonderful people, Trey. New friends?" He shot me a look back.

"I'm Jason, and this is Chase, Justin, Kayleb, and Chris. And, coming toward us now are Lilia, Celeste, Sasha, and Mina." Lady's man, Jason, answered. I turned to look at the girls that were headed this way; I hope one of them is his girlfriend, it might save me some trouble.

"Eeee! Jase, who're your new friends!" The slender red-head shrieked. "Hi! I'm Jason's sister Lilia! I'm so happy to finally meet you!" They looked nothing alike; but I haven't met their parents. I suppose if-

"I'm SO glad to meet you too! I'm Celeste! We have SO been looking forward to meet you! Haven't we Sasha?"

"Of COURSE! Ever since they started to build the house-"

"You've looked forward to meeting us." I finished for her, letting out a long sigh. Too many people talking too much; I bet I'll have nightmares about them. And, to make things worse, this room was getting crowded. Ugh.

"You look like you're being tortured."

"Oh, yes; it's so very cruel and unusual it usually drives people insane before they die." It was Dakoda; thank goodness it wasn't another 'oh, so happy to meet you' person. I think I would have screamed otherwise.

"You're not much of a people person?" Glancing sideways at me as he began to eat.

"It depends."

"On?"

"The people, the place, the situation. And there are WAY to many people, in a new place-"

"-where you don't particularly want to be-"

"-in a situation I'm not partial to." I finished.

"Makes sense." He said, nodding. Then I noticed his plate.

"What the? You're already finished?!" Incredulously, I watched him eat his last bite.

"Yep, and I'm headed back for more."

"Seconds? Or thirds?"

"Fourths." He said, grinning ear to ear as he got up and headed back to the kitchen.

"Ooooo! Fae! I see you've met Koda already... think he's cute?" Great. I look at her, raising an eyebrow and giving her my most incredulous look.

"So that's his name. Does everybody eat as fast as him?"

"Oh, yeah, a lot of the guys do; they, like, inhale it."

"Yes... I'm surprised they don't pass out, you'd think they'd get some in their lungs, or block their respiratory track, or something." I mused, letting my face go blank. The girls all burst out laughing.

"Fae, you're so funny!" Celeste exclaimed when she was able to catch her breath.

"Yeah! The very idea of one of them passed out on the floor!" The one with the short brunette hair, Mina, I think, added. They were going into conniptions now.

"Can't you just picture it?!" Lilia commented breathlessly.

"Yeah. How many buckets do you think it would take to revive them?" I asked, grinning and looking at the guys speculatively.

"Oh, Fae! You're too much!!!!" Celeste panted. They were on the floor now, tears of laughter running down their faces, unable to catch their breath. It was too much; I started laughing along with.

"Well, looks like you're enjoying yourself." I looked up; he was back, and his plate was piled higher than before.

"Where do you put all that?" I asked, looking him up and down, and then peering behind him.

"Where everyone else puts their food, duh." He answered, smiling briefly before diving into his food.

"I couldn't help laughing; them all down on the floor, gasping for breath like fishes out of water; and you should have seen the looks on the guys faces!" I said, smiling. And this time, it reached my eyes.

* * *

"You want me to throw away your trash for ya, Fae?" Wha? Oh, Jason.

"Ya, sure." Handing him my plate, I caught Ken's eye.

"Thanks for offering Jason." He said as he stacked his plate on mine, the others followed his example. Soon, instead of just my trash, he was stuck with everyone else's too. He didn't look too happy about it either.

"Jason, that's so kind of you! Thanks so much." Lilia gushed, she was followed by a chorus of 'thanks!''you're such a gentleman' and 'so considerate!' from the other girls.

"No prob, sis." Once he disappeared I started to think of ways to avoid him.

"So, Fae, we've met you and Trey, where's the rest of your family?" One of the dark ones, Sasha, asked.

"Well, actually, the only other of us here right now is Dad, he's over there in that corner."

"Oh, where's the others?"

"They're gonna get here later this week, we came on ahead to start getting things set up."

"Well, could you tell us about them?" Mina piped.

"Yeah! Tell us about your family!" Celeste squealed.

"Calm down, no reason to get all excited."

"Come on Chris, we're all curious."

"Of course we're all curious, we're all sick of seeing each other; a few fresh faces are always interesting." Jason was back.

"Well, there's six of us kids-" Ken started

"-and we're all adopted." I added

"Really? All of you?!"

"Yep, me and Trey are the oldest-"

"-but we were the second to last to be adopted. Next are Daxton and Arisa-"

"-they're twins too, but they look nothing alike; Dax is as dark as Arisa is fair."

"Next oldest after them is Alec-"

"-sandy brown hair, hazel eyes-"

"-he's 13; and last-"

"-but not least-"

"-is Dustynn-"

"-who's 10, green eyes, short red hair-"

"-and as cute as all get out." Ken finished. Some of them looked like they'd had a hard time following our conversation.

"Do you two always do that?" Lilia sounded a bit dazed "How can you keep up with what the other is saying?"

"It's quite simple-"

"-when we both know what we're talking about." We both grinned

"It looks like you enjoy confusing people." Dakoda commented; me and Ken exchanged glances, looked at him and said, together:

"Really? How did you know?!" And then burst out laughing.

_Please review!_


	4. Too Much New

*Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, duh; I'm not Stephanie.

Note: I was bored when I wrote this chapter, and when I'm bored, things happen...

**Chapter Three**

_Is it humanly possible to settle into a new community, a new house and a new neighborhood when no one will leave you alone?_

I woke up to someone banging on my door. "Don't you have any sense of time? It's barely six o'clock! GO AWAY!" Growling, I roll over and pull my pillow over my head.

"We _know_ what time it is, silly. We want to get an early start! Rise and shine, Fae!" Oh no, no no no....

"That's the sun's job, not mine! What do you want?"

"We're gonna show you and Trey around La Push! Come on, everyone's waiting outside!" Great, I should have known they would do something like this. "Nngh..." I rolled onto my back and put my hands over my eyes "Do I _have _to get up now? Can't you, like, come back in an hour?"

"No. We'll give you 'bout fifteen minutes to get ready."

"Fine. Is Trey up yet?"

"Present and accounted for." He said as he opened my door, Lilia, the poor misguided soul who woke me, was standing behind him. "What are you still doing in bed? You have only fifteen minutes." I pulled the pillow off my head and sat up.

"Now, remind me Trey, what time did we finally get to bed last night?"

"Umm, you mean: 'what time this morning'?" I threw my hands into the air, flopped back onto the mattress and pulled my covers over my head. "Ungh. I'm not going!"

"Come on Fae, it'll be fun!" Lilia said as she pulled the covers off my head. "Now get movin' girl!" Groaning, I crawled out of bed and stood with my hands on my hips.

"All right, I'm up now, you can leave. I'll be out in fifteen minutes."

* * *

"Hey, look! It's Fae!" Lilia called, and as I made my way towards their car they started cheering.

"Hey chica! You made it!" Mina exclaimed as she opened the door and slid over to make room. As I dropped into my seat I made a quick head count.

"Where's Sasha and the guys? I hope you're not planning on fitting them in here, too."

"What?! No, they're coming later." Celeste answered.

"You mean they get to sleep longer?!"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You're kidding! Ah, foo! Why couldn't you have let _me _sleep?!" I groaned, leaning back and running my fingers through my hair in frustration.

"Because we're the one's in charge of kidnapping you and feeding you breakfast, and it wouldn't really be considered a 'kidnapping' if we didn't roust you out of bed, now would it?" Mina declared. I just looked at her."Well, it wouldn't." she said defensively. I rolled my eyes and sighed; I was beginning to wonder if I would ever have any time to myself, or if I would be constantly surrounded by people that thought depriving me of sleep was fun.

"So, where are we going?" Ken asked; he didn't look like he'd only gotten two and a half hours of sleep.

"Well, there's this really nice little diner in town-" Lilia started.

"NO." They all looked at me, well, except for Celeste, who was driving; she just glanced. "There is NO WAY I'm going to go eat while Sasha and the guys snooze. So let's go wake 'em up. _NOW_." I said, leaning forward and across, putting my hand on the headrest of the driver's seat. "And I _mean_ _**Now**_, Celeste." There was silence. For about two seconds.

"What a _great_ idea, Fae! Yeah, Celeste, let's go!" Lilia exclaimed, bouncing forwards in her seat. "They all spent the night at my house last night, so it'll be _easy_!"

"What about Sasha?"

"Her house is right next to their's." Mina answered. I shifted in my seat and sat up, rubbing my hands together.

"Good. Operation Wakey Wakey is a go!"

* * *

"_I can't see_!" Celeste whispered. "_And which room are they in?_"

"_Upstairs, first door on the left._" Lilia whispered back as she softly shut the car door.

"_Where's you're parents' room?_ _I hope it's not too close to the one they're in; or do you think they wouldn't mind being woken up by a bunch of yahoos?_" I ask, pondering what the outcome of that particular scenario would be.

"_They probably wouldn't mind, but if we accidentally wake them up _before_ we wake up the boys_" Lilia warned "_it could mess up the whole Operation._"

We continued down the walk toward the front door; Mina and I were first, followed by Celeste, Ken and Lilia. Once I reach the front door I pause to listen.

"_All clear. And I don't hear any movement; everyone ready?_" I query, checking my equipment.

"_We're good to go._" Celeste answered and gave me a thumbs up. Now _this_ was fun. And it was gonna get even better.

"_All right__, if we make it to their door without being detected, Lilia, you take Mina through the door and head to the right. Trey, you take Celeste through the door and head left._" I direct; they all nod their heads.

"_Where are you going to be?_" Ken asked.

"_Straight up the middle." _Ken nods and gives me a thumbs up.

"_Everyone set?_" I ask; Lilia, Mina and Celeste all nod; "_Then let's __**do this**__!_"

Once we get to the top of the stairs I motion for everyone to stop.

"_Still no movement; everyone know what they're doing?_" After everyone nods, I continue. "_Good, and once you reach your positions, wait for my signal; you'll know it when you hear it._" I turned and continued down the hall with my back to the wall and my hands clasped in front of me about chest high with my indexes' and thumbs' out mimicking a gun. Just as we reach it, a door at the end of the hall on the right opens and Lilia's dad, Jacob Black, steps out. He turns our direction and notices us along the wall, obviously up to no good; before he can say anything I put a finger to my lips and look intently at him. Grinning, he nods and steps back through the door.

"_That was close._" Ken mutters, letting out the breath he was holding. I nod in agreement and motion the others to go on through the door. So far, so good.

Shutting the door softly behind me, I turn to survey the room; the six of them are sprawled all over the two hide-a-beds facing the TV, everyone's in their positions, and the guys are still zonked out. Creeping forward, I signal the others to do the same; once I reach the back of the couches, I pull out a couple of canisters.

"_If you have spray, keep it away from their face, but the string can go anywhere._" I reminded as I lifted my 'weapons'. One of them moaned, rolled onto their back and opened their eyes; once again I pressed my finger to my lips. He grunted and rolled back over. One, two, THREE!!!! "BANZAI!!!!" Vaulting onto the mattress, I cut loose with silly string and colored hairspray, jumping up and down on the bed.

"WAKEY WAKEY WAKEY WAKEY!!!" Lilia shouts while liberally applying purple and gold hairspray on those closest to her

"Rise and shining sleeping beauties!!!" Mina and her silly string join the fray.

"Your wake up call has arrived!!!" Ken yells as he pulls the covers off the beds

"KOWABUNGA!!!" Glitter spray and Celeste are everywhere. And then things start to get interesting; silly string, glitter, colorful clouds of hairspray, and six teenage and post-teenage boys are going everywhere.

"FALL BACK! CUT OFF THEIR ESCAPE!" I shout, hopping off the bed and heading for the door, at least, I started to; then someone tackled me.

"Fae?! What th-" It was Jason. Awkward. I twist free and stand up just in time to dodge a flying pillow.

"All right!!! ENOUGH!" Jason bellows once he regains his feet; nothing happens. I roll my eyes, then let out an ear-piercing whistle; everyone stops to cover their ears. Jason glances at me "Thanks." Turning to look at the rest of the room, he continues; "Now would someone _please_ explain all this?!" Before anyone can answer, Jacob Black steps into the room.

"Yes, I think an explanation is in order; but how about we discuss this over breakfast."

* * *

"So, what's for breakfast?" I ask cheerfully when we reach the kitchen.

"Well, nothing's ready yet-" Mrs. Black begins

"No thanks to _you_." Justin interrupts with a growl.

"Well _excuse_ me, grumpy; it wasn't _my_ idea to 'kidnap' some girl before she'd gotten eight hours of undisturbed sleep." I shoot back.

"Aw, poor little girlie didn't get her beauty sleep?" Oh, he left himself _way_ too open with that one.

"Huh, that's odd; I was just about to ask _you_ that." A loud chorus of 'Oh! Burn!' and 'She got you, man!' follows. It takes him a few secs to formulate a 'comeback'.

"Is this a battle of wits?"

"Yep." I answer, grinning impishly. "But it's not a very fair one; it's too one-sided."

"Oh, really."

"You know, if you're going to pick a fight with an expert, you could at least come prepared; you are _so_ unarmed." I comment, reaching over to pat his head consolingly. Everyone bursts out laughing.

"Man, Justin; you _totally_ set yourself up! And you really could use some more 'beauty' sleep!" Chase exclaims, laughing to himself. I hate it when people do that.

"Speak for yourself, Chase; and if you're going to be in the kitchen, stay away from me." Hehehe, I'm so mean.

"Why?" He asks, puzzled.

"Because, your face is hurting me." More laughter ensues.

"Speaking of setting yourself up; way to go, Chase." Justin comments, clapping him on the back.

"Anyway," I say, turning back to Mrs. Black. "let's get back to the subject of food; do you have anything in mind that you were planning to fix?"

"No, not really. Boys?" She replied, looking questioningly at them. This is too good.

"No, I don't think they would taste good at all; what little meat is on them would be too stringy. We'd be picking it out of our teeth for the next week!" All of the girls are having major giggle fits.

"HEY!" All the guys chorus together. Dakoda and Jake B. are barely managing to stifle their laughter.

"How about cake?" I ask, the only one in the room who managed to keep a straight face.


	5. How Foolish Of You

*Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I created, Stephanie's characters are Stephanie's characters, not mine.

Note: I was still kinda bored when I wrote this one :P And Fae may seem really moody; unable to stop laughing on minute, ready to strangle annoying people the next, but that's how I would be if someone did that to me (I'm like that when I'm _**really**_ tired.)

**Chapter Four**

_Why do stupid people always provoke me?_

I pull the last one from the oven and put in on the counter next to the others.

"Hey, Trey; are they back yet?"

"I think they're fighting World War IV over there; so, no, they aren't back yet."

"Oh, so that's what all the shouting's about." I muse, eating bits off of the top of the nearest cake.

"Yep." Ken agrees. "I think I can actually hear what they're saying now. Let's see; 'how dare you', 'runaway' and 'faster, she's gaining on us'." Just then the front door slams open;

"Quick! Shut the door!" Chase shouts, Justin grabs the door to slam it shut; and he almost makes it, too.

"YOU **FREAKS**!!!! YOU JUST MADE THE **WORST** MISTAKE OF YOUR **MISERABLE, LITTLE LIVES!!! **COME **ON**, YOU CHICKENS; GET OUT HERE AND **TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!!!!!**" Sasha, with wild pink, purple and gold hair and silly string all over, has a foot in the door and is slowly pushing the door open, despite the fact that Justin, Chase and Jason are all braced against it; and they're looking very worried indeed.

"Look, it was all-"

"DON'T YOU **DARE** TRY AND TELL ME THAT YOU HAD **NOTHING** TO DO WITH IT!!!!!" Humming tunelessly, I set down the mixing bowl I had just finished cleaning out and strolled out of the kitchen and over to the door.

"Hey Sasha, could you quit yelling now? I think they heard you."

"Wha?" Startled, she stops pushing on the door just long enough for the boys to slam it shut. "Hey! Open up! You've STILL got some explaining to do!!!" Sasha shouts, banging on the door. Pushing the boys to the side, I open it;

"Chill, Sasha; you can always get them later, but let's eat first. Besides, they probably won't be able to run as fast on a full stomach, anyway." Then I notice Lilia, Mina and Celeste standing behind her.

"So, what happened exactly?" I ask once we're all gathered in the kitchen again.

"_Well_, where do we start." Sasha says, hands on her hips; and if looks could kill, we'd have had to dig quite a few graves. "I woke up because I heard something, then, before I could figure out what was going on, they jumped me."

"And _THEN_ they turned on us, too." Celeste added; you know, it's a _very_ fortunate thing that looks can't kill.

"Yeah, that's what I assumed happened." Ken commented wryly,

"You bet! The opportunity was too good to pass up!" Kayleb exclaims. "You should go take a good look in the mirror!"

"Ya know, you guys don't look so swooft yourselves." I point out, only they haven't seen what they look like, either.

"Oh, crud." Jason softly exclaims when he recalls the fact that none of them had even bothered to look at each other, much less at themselves; they were too busy being, either

A) mad at me, Ken, Lilia, Mina and Celeste,

B) agitated at being woken up earlier than they wanted to,

C) hungry, or

D) focused on waking up Sasha and getting even. In one movement Chase, Jason, Kayleb, Justin and Chris stampede to the nearest bathroom; and Lilia, Sasha, Mina and Celeste aren't very far behind. I trail along because I want to see their expressions when they look in the mirror.

"WHAT ON _EARTH_!!!! **WHY DO I HAVE HOT PINK STREAKS IN MY HAIR!!!!**"

"YOU THINK _**YOU**_ HAVE IT BAD?!!! MINE'S **PURPLE AND GOLD!!!**"

"**I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!!**" Then the girls join in;

"**LOOK AT **_**THIS**_**!!! JUST **_**LOOK AT THIS**_**!!! I'LL **_**NEVER**_** GET ALL THE SILLY STRING OUT OF MY HAIR!!!!!!!**"

"**OH YEAH?!** _**MY**_ HAIR HAS SO MUCH YELLOW IN IT, I LOOK LIKE A **FREAKIN' BANANA!!!!**"

"_**GAAAHHHHHHHHH**__**!!!!!!**_ "

"**YOU ARE **_**SO**__** DEAD**_**!!!!!!!**" They shriek together.

"**NO, **_**YOU**_** ARE SO DEAD!!!!!!**" The guys shout back in unison. I reach the bathroom door; they _all_ look _totally_ ridiculous! Time for me to step in.

"HEY!" They all turn to look at me. "Before you all kill each other, tell me; what's one plus two?" I ask, carefully pulling a small, dark object from my back pocket and concealing it in my hand.

"Three." They all chorus. I manage to snap a couple pictures before they react;

"**GIVE ME THAT**!!!" Justin growls, lunging toward me. Twisting, I dodge to one side and run back down the hall toward the kitchen.

"DON'T JUST STAND AROUND! **AFTER HER!!!**" Apparently, they really want my camera; it sounds like I'm being chased by a herd of buffalo. Reaching the kitchen doorway, I grab the door jamb and let my momentum swing me around and through; unfortunately, Dakoda was going _out_ when I was coming _in_. Crap. Hitting him with all my afore mentioned momentum, we both go down; luckily, I end up on top. This is _way_ too much; I lose it.

"Fae, what happened? Are you okay?" Shaking my head, I try to catch my breath; it's no use, one look at them and I start laughing again.

"Don't worry about her; she's just tired." Ken says, making his way over to me. "Fae, I think Dakoda would like you off of him so he can get up." He points out; I've been laughing so hard I haven't been able to do anything else. Unable to stop, I just shake my head;

"I- can't. Trey,- help- me." I manage to gasp between fits of laughter. Sighing, he reaches down and pulls me to my feet.

"Thanks." Dakoda says, suppressing a grin as he gets up and starts brushing himself off.

"No problem." Ken replies, holding me up with one hand and pulling a chair out with the other. "Have a seat and try to breathe." I collapse into the chair, wipe my eyes and try to breathe properly.

"Okay, I think I've got it under control." Maybe, maybe not.

"Good, take three deep breaths, close your eyes. Relax. That's better; now open your eyes and look at me." I look at Ken. "Good." He leans back and brushes the hair out of his eyes; still looking at him, I can feel it starting again. Great. "Fae, don't forget to breathe." I take a deep breath and start to let it out. _Start_ being the key word in that sentence. Choking back laughter, I clap both hands over my mouth.

"Fae, don't stop breathing." Jason reprimands; I make the mistake of looking at him.

"You're _sure_ she's o.k.?" Justin asks, looking at me incredulously, "Because she sure doesn't look like it."

"Yeah, she just gets like this when she's tired; and you _do_ look outrageous." Ken explains; "Besides that, the entire morning has been quite the adventure." Shaking his head, he looks at me. "You've always got to be in the thick of it, don't you?" I stop laughing to glare at him. He raises an eyebrow at me; "What?" My laughter resumes.

* * *

"This is good; what do you call it again?" Kayleb asks; actually, it sounded more like 'is id gud; wha oo you caw it n'gan' because he'd just stuffed a ginormous piece into his mouth.

"Breakfast cake, muffin cake; either one works." I answer, picking up the empty pan and setting it on the counter.

"Well, I hope you made enough." He's already reaching for another piece; and he hasn't even finished chewing the first.

"I made enough to feed the entire town; if that's not enough to sate your hunger, go hunt in the woods. You all are worse than ravenous wolves." I state, setting two more full pans on the table. All he managed for an answer was a grunt, his mouth was too full. I look around the table; "Actually, wolves would probably be less messy."

"They'll clean up when they're done; at least they'd better." Jacob says; "Now, one thing I want to know, is what started this whole thing."

"Well, Mr. Black-" I begin.

"Please, 'Mr. Black' was my father; I'm Jake."

"Well then, 'Jake', can I ask you something?" I look questioningly at him.

"Sure, ask away."

"Can I call you J.B.?" His eyebrows shot up;

"Yeah, I guess; why?"

"Because, otherwise that would make _three_ 'J' names that I'll have to remember, and they all kinda sound alike; Justin, Jason, Jacob..." I explain, wrinkling my nose "And I already am having a hard enough time keeping everybody's names straight. So, is that all right J.B.?"

"Sure, sure; go on ahead and call me that." He answers, shaking is head and chuckling to himself. "Now, can you finish your answer?"

"Okey-day! Now, see, at six o'clock this morning, Lilia wakes me up by banging on my door, I told her to go away; she didn't. _So_, I got out of bed and got dressed and all that; then, when we're in the car, they tell me that all you guys, and Sasha, were still asleep, and that didn't ride with me, so I took over; 'let's go wake 'em up' I said, and they all went 'yay, great idea'. So we stopped by some store that was on the way and got the silly string and lovely shades of hairspray that you are currently wearing." I pause to inhale;

"So _YOU'RE_ the reason we're covered in this crap!" Chase snarls, glaring at me accusingly.

"No, actually, _**I**_ voted on five gallon buckets of ice-water, but the others vetoed that. It was Mina who came up with the silly string and hairspray idea; apparently you boys crashed her birthday party-slash-sleepover a few years ago in a way not unlike the way we wrecked yours. And, if it actually was crap, you would smell a _**lot**_ worse than you do now; but I can probably go get you some, if that's what you want." I snap; _**I'm**_ the only one allowed to have an attitude.

Guy's, believe me; you _really_ don't want to get on her bad side right now." Ken cut's in, intervening for their sake. Aw, foo; I was just getting going. "Once her goofy stage wears off, she starts snapping at anyone and everyone."

"I think I agree with Trey; boys, shut it." J.B. says, then turns back to me; "Please continue, Fae."

"Well, I was pretty much finished; and by the way, you guys _snore_,like, _**really loud**_."

"You think you're all that, don't you; running around like you're boss of everything, doing whatever the heck you want to decent people who haven't ever done anything to you." After letting Justin finish; I smile condescendingly, man have I _had it_ with this idiot!

"No, you see, I kind of only got, roughly, two and a half hours of sleep last night after spending two days traveling and most of another unpacking; and guess whose _**brilliant**_ idea it was to wake me up? Hmm, gee, wasn't it, like, _yours_? So, I don't care if _you're_ ticked, because you've got nothing on me, and never will. So, if you want to take this further, I suggest we go outside; I'd do too much damage if we had it out here." My outburst is answered with; silence...

"So, who's up for more cake?" Ken asks.


	6. My VIP Tour

*Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie, so I do not own her characters.

Note: this is the last of the chapters that I wrote before I posted the prologue (and I'm still working on the sixth) I know that it hasn't been really exiting so far, but I'm working on it...

**Chapter Five**

_Can somebody tell me why I need a tour of the land of perpetual wet?.._

"Fae, did you eat any breakfast?" Lilia asked as she put the last of the pans in the sink.

"Mmmm?" I shoved the rest of the cookie into my mouth and swallowed. "Oh, yeah, I did."

"Did I just see you eat a cookie?" Sasha said, looking at me accusingly;

"Cookie? You mean you've got cookies? Where?" I ask, looking around as if I hadn't found them yet.

"Like you don't already know." J.B. cut in, leaning on the counter; "By the way; yes, you can have some cookies." Grinning, I open the cupboard and pull the cookie jar off the top shelf.

"I love you, J.B.!" I croon,"You're the bestest!!!" I pause to appreciate the awesome, divine goodness of both the cookies, and J.B. "Hmmm; I wonder how many I could fit in my mouth..." I wonder aloud.

"You can figure that out later; get you some and pass them here." Kayleb demands, leaning forward in his seat and putting his elbows on the table. Such manners.

"Actually, that was a kind of a rhetorical question, and I was talking to myself. Besides, there's not enough to go around." I retort, stuffing a cookie in my mouth;

"Why's that? There's more than enough for everyone." Jason puts in.

"Correction: there are only enough cookies for me." I state, eating another one while I'm at it.

* * *

"C'mon Fae, you get shotgun this time." Celeste says, picking up her purse and heading for the door.

"And where would we be going?" I ask, raising an eyebrow;

"To take you two home; I guess we really didn't think all that much about how you would feel at being woken up so early. And we should have realized that you would have gotten to sleep late and would be wanting to sleep in. So, I'm taking you home before any of these nuts do more damage than we already have." She explained. Does she really think it can be fixed that easy?

"You mean you woke me up to take a tour that we're not going to take?" I ask incredulously; "Are you kidding? You all woke us up to take us on a tour, so let's get to it."

"You don't want to go home and go back to sleep?" Like I could fall asleep now.

"Once I'm up, I'm up and I can't get 'back to sleep'; occasionally I am able to take a nap, but that's in the afternoon and it's only just past seven thirty." Celeste doesn't look very convinced; "Look; you got us up for a tour, so you're going to give us a tour. Now let's go, we're burning daylight."

* * *

"So, how do you like La Push?" Hmm, where do I begin?

"Well, it's small,-"

"- in the middle of nowhere,-"

"-surrounded by trees-"

"-and perpetually wet." Ken concluded, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, and people seem to have the inherent desire to deprive us of sleep." I just had to add that. "However-"

"-the natives are friendly-"

"-and the drinks are good." I finish, taking a pull on my cream soda; Ken rolls his eyes,

"You would say that; isn't there something you want to add?" I think for a moment.

"Hmmm... the food's good, too." Hahaha, I love annoying him.

"Like, maybe; 'the weather's great', or 'I love the scenery'?" Ken suggests,

"Really? I'm glad you like the scenery, but I find it lacking in horses and open spaces. And as for the weather, it would take at least an hours worth of soaking in a jacuzzi for me to thaw." I say, shivering.

"That's probably because you ate all of that ice-cream." Chase put in; yeah right.

"Oh, yeah. Make that two hours." I said. "I forgot about the ice-cream. By the way, do they serve hot chocolate here?"

"I don't know; I know they have it during the winter, but I don't know about during the summer." Jason answered. "And, as for a jacuzzi, I think you'll have to find one first."

"_This_ is summer? Oh, man! No wonder you people eat so much; to keep warm!" I exclaim. What a drag, not only is it wet, it's cold too. And if this is as warm as it gets, I'll have to move out before winter sets in. "But I don't have to worry about finding a jacuzzi."

"Why?" Mina looks quizzically at me.

"Oh, my parents probably have one stashed in a closet somewhere." Shrugging, I turn my attention back to my soda. As I start drinking, my shivers return. "Oh, foo. Why does it have to be so cold!" I exclaim. After shaking my fist at the scenery I pull my knees up to my chin and wrap my arms around my legs in an attempt to conserve body heat. It doesn't work.

"Be right back." Jason says, getting up and walking back into the diner. Dakoda pushed back his chair and stood.

"Where are you going?" Lilia asked, puzzled.

"To get something from the truck." He replied as he pushed his chair back in. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving."

* * *

A steaming mug materialized in the air in front of me. Well, that's what it seemed like.

"Can you say 'hot chocolate'?" Jason asked as he set it down. Startled, I cleared three inches; unfortunately, the chair I was on wasn't very stable, so I fell over backwards.

"Fae! Are you okay?!" Jason exclaimed. I was too busy laughing to answer right away.

"Oh, I'm fine." I answer getting to my feet. "But don't do that again, _ever_. Especially when I'm tired." Sighing, I pick up my chair and set it back up.

"Why do you always laugh when something like that happens?" Lilia questioned, looking a bit perplexed.

"_Because,_ it's funny. Like, the ironic sort of funny." I answer. "That's just the sort of thing that would happen to me. I mean, who else would fall off their chair if a mug of hot chocolate appeared in front of them?" Not to mention that Jason was so close that he brushed against me; that was why I was so startled. That, and the fact that I didn't hear him till he was practically right on top of me. I sigh mentally; I wish he would leave me alone!

"Heads up!" Wha?! I tried to catch whatever it was, but to no avail; off balance, I fall. Again. Sighing, I pick myself up for the second time in the past three minutes.

"What was that for?!" I asked, glaring at Dakoda.

"Sorry, I didn't think you would fall."

"That's right; you didn't think. First Jason, now you." I accuse. It would seem that, not only do they like to deprive me of sleep, they also like to knock me over. Lovely.

"Huh?" Oh, yeah; he didn't see me fall the first time. Sighing once more, I explain;

"Jason startled me and I fell, then you threw something at me, and I fell again. Are you guys trying to make sure gravity still works or something?!" I exclaim, exasperated.

"Sorry, I just thought you might want that." Dakoda said, pointing to the projectile he had launched at me. I picked it up.

"WHOA! Two of me could fit in this!" I have _never_ seen a jacket this big, but of course, most of the guys here are big, especially through the chest and shoulders.

"Yeah, it's my dad's; I borrowed it a few weeks ago, it's just been sitting in the truck. I thought you might want it." He explained. _Whoa_, are _all_ the men here this big? What do they put in their food? Miracle Grow?

"Thanks." I slip it on and zip it up. "How do I look?"

"Like the jacket swallowed you whole." Ken said, grinning. The sleeves completely hide my hands with quite a few inches to spare, and the shoulders have _got_ to be at least five inches too big on each side.

"If it was your size, Fae, you would be smokin'!" Celeste exclaimed "Black leather looks _so_ good on you!" I make a face; people always think I look good, especially guys.

"I look good in just about everything." I sigh. "But I'm warm. Now, where'd that chocolate get to?"I turn back to the table.

"So, you look good in anything? How about _this_!" Justin shouts from behind and to my left, pulling out a familiar little canister. Hmm, nope; lime green doesn't go with this outfit. However, he didn't give me time to object. He lunged forward, obviously aiming for my hair; I somehow manage to pull my head inside the jacket, and my fist just happens to run into his jaw. Some people only understand one language; good thing I speak physical fluently. Grunting in surprise, he is distracted enough that he runs into a chair.

"**Unnggh.**" Good, with the breath knocked out of him, it'll make my job a _lot_ easier. I jerk the jacket off over my head, grab the pretty lime hairspray and reach out to get a hold of mister smarty pants; shirt collars make such nice handles. Pulling him toward me and holding hairspray at ready, I watch in amusement as a look of abject horror spreads over his face. Next thing I know, I'm holding what's left of his shirt and watching his retreating back. Oh boy! I _love_ a good chase.

"Fae! Don't!" Ken shouts, trying to grab my arm as I lunge to my feet to pursue the fleeing wuss; dodging around him, I continue on my way. One thing about little towns, is that there isn't a sufficient number of people to clog the sidewalks, thus making it a simple matter to catch a runaway dork. Yeah, I had a lot of ground to make up, but apparently he thought I wasn't a very good runner; he wasn't going very fast. Oh well, he'd just have to learn from experience. Lengthening my stride, I begin to close in; twenty-five feet, twenty, eighteen, fifteen, eleven, I estimate, waiting for a straight stretch of sidewalk for my final sprint. Still clutching the fear inspiring little canister in my left hand, I see my chance.

* * *

Launching in three, two, one. Justin turns his head to look behind him, consequently slowing himself down. Perfect. Hitting him in the lower back, I take him down. Mwahahaha! Pinning him to the ground, I methodically start spraying his hair green.

"You know, you could make this a lot easier on yourself by holding still." I mention. A snarl is all I get in response. Keeping him pinned is hard, good thing I'm almost done.

"_**FAE**_!" Turning to acknowledge the approaching wrath, I'm distracted long enough for Justin to wrench free.

"Hey, Justin; love the hair, man." Chase says; Justin is too busy planning my funeral to bother answering.

"Fae. _Why_?" Ken groans "You've been so good these past few months." Yeah, right.

"Yeah, so 'good' that Mom and Dad decided to move, right?" I sneer, emphasizing my sarcasm to make my point obvious. Wincing, Ken decides to drop the subject; smart choice. Looking up, my eyes meet Dakoda's; I can almost see the gears turning, trying to figure out what I meant and why Ken reacted the way he did. Not good. Using Ken as a means to pull myself up, I get to my feet and brush myself off. Turning, I grin at Justin.

"Maybe next time you'll think before trying to take me on." He looks like he's contemplating murder. "Just remember; NO ONE, and I _mean_ NO ONE messes with my hair. Comprende?" Man, he growls more than a mad dog.

"Fae, you're just full of surprises, aren't you." Jason comments. Hahaha.

"Now," I said, heading back toward the diner. "about that chocolate..."

* * *

"What happened to Justin?" Some stranger asked; well, a stranger to me, anyway. This is the fourth person to ask that. Jeez, these people have no imagination, I mean, if _I_ saw someone with lime green hair go by, I'd come up with some idea as to why his hair was green; like, maybe he went swimming in a pool with too much chlorine.

"Oh, you've seen him." Chris states, looking a bit grim. Hmm, I wonder why.

"Yeah, I think probably everyone in town has. So, what happened?" Everyone in town? Just great.

"Well, he kinda got on the wrong side of a certain someone and ended up on the receiving end of a can of colored hairspray." I say, finishing my second chocolate. We were waiting for Justin, he had gone home to wash the green out of his hair. And he's taking forever. Oh, good, number four is leaving.

"Now, back to our conversation." I begin.

"You know, Justin's not going to forgive you. At least not very easily." Jason comments. "You really know how to make enemies."

"Yep, turn a guys hair green, and he's dead set against you for life. I should know." I muse.

"You mean you've done this before?!" Mina exclaims. Man, my sarcasm goes right over their heads.

"Uh, no. It's called sarcasm. Ever heard of it?" I reply, rolling my eyes. "_Now_, back to our conversation. Where were we?"

"I don't remember. Let's start a new one." Celeste says. "So, you like horses?" She's sharp. I open my mouth to answer.

"Let me put it this way; if horses didn't exist, neither would she." Ken cuts in.

"What's so interesting about them? They're just animals." Kayleb comments dismissively.

"Just animals." I repeat, looking at him. "Sorry, but I've _never_ met a horse that was 'just' an animal. And believe me, I've worked with a lot of them." I state flatly.

"Did you work on a ranch?" Dakoda asked, curious.

"Hey, don't get her started unless you want to spend several hours listening to her expound upon the subject of horses." Ken warns. I kick him in the shins. Hard.

"Will _not_! I know when to shut up!" I object. I turn back to Celeste and Dakoda. "I worked at the Hidden Valley Ranch-"

"Like the salad dressing?" Lilia asks, incredulous. I groan and roll my eyes;

"You are approximately the two-hundredth and sixty third person to ask that. NO. It's in a valley back in the mountains, about an hour and a half from town. And you can't see it till you come around the last bend in the driveway. Hence the name."

**Review! Tips, suggestions, and comments are loved!!!**


	7. This Day Is Lasting Forever

*Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie, duh :P

Note: Some parts of this might be confusing, so if you have questions, just ask :)

* * *

**Chapter Six**

_This day is lasting forever..._

I had thought our tour was over, but apparently they thought it would be incomplete if we didn't see the ocean.

"This beach is a favorite hang out place; picnics, meetings, parties, that sort of thing. And see those cliffs over there?" Lilia asked, pointing at some good sized cliffs in the distance. "You can watch the most gorgeous sunsets from there. And go cliff diving." Looking up and down the beach, I turn and look back at Lilia, eyebrows raised;

"_This_ is a beach?" I ask, incredulously.

"Yeah, it's not all sunshiny and warm, and the water's downright cold." Jason puts in: "But it's still a beach." I heave a sigh, shaking my head and putting a hand to my forehead.

"Let me enlighten you. Ocean. Strip of damp sand and rocks. Wet dirt and trees." I state flatly, pointing to each in turn. "That's all. End of story. The only thing they have in common is that all three are cold and wet."

"Well, you'll just have to learn to live with it." Justin snarled. Really, he needs to take a chill pill. On second thought, just one probably wouldn't be enough; make that five dozen.

"I never said I couldn't live with it; it's just cold and damp. And I don't do so well in this sort of environment." I retort. My chills and shivers returned during the car ride over. Huddling deeper into the jacket as we walk down the 'beach', I notice something.

"Do you guys have a dog?" I query, covertly double checking to make sure that that smell was indeed coming from the jacket.

"Uh, no, we don't. Why?" Dakoda answered and questioned in the same sentence.

"Well, do you know anyone that does?" Continuing my questioning. If something is out of place, it drives me crazy; that is, until I figure it out. Hmm, why am I getting the impression that they don't like my questions... ?

"No.." He answers again. "When are you going to tell me why?"

"Do you La Pushians like to go hiking?"

"Yeah, we're always in the woods." Jason answers, grinning.

"Yes, and you live in bark huts and eat your food raw." I reply sarcastically. "That explains one thing..." Letting my voice trail off, I pause to consider the implications.

"What's that supposed to mean, and why did you want to know if I, or anyone I know, has a dog?" Dakoda asked for the third time.

"Is it just me, or do you like to repeat yourself." Grinning impishly, I vaguely wonder why it's bugging him so much. The silence stretches on, and am I imagining it, or is there tension in the air? "To answer your thrice repeated question, I asked because this jacket smells quite strongly of dog, as well as damp moss and something else that I can't quite put a finger on. The damp moss smell is explained by the fact that you La Pushians are 'always in the woods', as Jason put it, but the dog smell still hasn't been explained, and the other one still escapes me." I explain, tilting my head and trying to catch that one scent again. I am definitely feeling some tension here.

"Wait, Dakoda; remember when we watched my aunt's dog, Toby?" Lilia piped, he looked puzzled, so she continued; "And Seth left his jacket at our house; Toby _loved _that jacket! He slept with that thing until he went back home!" A look of recognition spread over Koda's face.

"Oh yeah; _now_ I remember." He replies, running his hand through his hair. Okay, if they think I'm going to buy that, they've _got_ to be crazy!

"_Riiight_. Do you expect me to believe that? You made it up on the spot; but don't worry, I'll figure it out eventually." I say, just to see what happens. They remain silent; Lilia and Jason exchange worried glances, but the rest of them are silent. What are they trying to hide?

Whatever it is, if Celeste and Koda know about it, it's not bothering them; they're totally relaxed with no trace of tension anywhere, though Celeste seems a bit confused. I exchange glances with Ken, then concentrate on looking like I'm having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"I can't believe you guys actually bought that!" Ken exclaims "The looks on your faces!" He is unable to continue due to the fact that he is laughing too hard. They look surprised, then look over at me, confused; that's my cue. I slowly let a grin spread across my face.

"Fae, you turkey!" Mina exclaims, smacking my arm.

"Hey! Watch it! You guys brought it upon yourself." I object. "So, how's Toby doing now?"

"Wha? Oh, yeah; he's fine." Lilia answers. I wrap my arms around my chest and hunch my shoulders, pulling my head down so I look like a turtle with only the top half of my head showing. Breathing deeply, I ignored all the other scents and focused on the smell of leather. I fell headlong into a bittersweet memory.

---

_"Isn't it beautiful?" He whispered directly in my ear, his cheek pressed against my hair._

_"Yes." I said, leaning my head back to rest against his shoulder. I shivered; it got cold so quickly after the sun had set._

_"Here." He said, taking of his jacket. "Put this on." I slipped it on gladly, the smell of cool leather enveloping me-_

_---  
_

I snapped out of my unwanted memory, startled at how quick it had come up; but now I knew what that third scent had reminded me of. Him. I shivered, but not from the cold.

"Trey, I want to go home." I whispered, closing my eyes. I was suddenly overwhelmed with home sickness. I guess I wasn't quiet enough; the others heard.

"Oh, okay; well, this is almost the end of our tour anyway, we'll show you the cliffs another time." Lilia said. "We'll take you home now." I nodded, looking out over the ocean, concentrating on holding back the barrage of memories that clamored for my attention.

* * *

We pulled up in front of the house, escort and all; just in time, too. Now I could put my plan into action.

"You guys want to come in and hang out?" I asked as me and Ken climbed out of the car.

"No, we couldn't; we've been with you two all day, you guys need time to yourselves to wind down." Celeste answered.

"We'll wind down when it's time for bed-"

"-so you all just come on in." Ken finished for me. "Besides, you haven't been inside since we've started setting things up." Celeste, Lilia, and Mina exchange glances;

"Well, if it's not to much of a bother..." Celeste put the car in park and they all climbed out. Ken beckoned to the guys in the truck, puzzled, they came on over to see what was up.

* * *

"Man." Chase said softly, looking around; "You guys sure didn't go to sleep after everyone left." Standing in the front hall, gawking, were all the La Pushians. Kicking off my shoes, I turned and walked into the living room and flopped onto the nearest couch.

"TREY! Go get me something cold to drink!" I holler. "Please." I add, tacking it on as an after thought. Heaving a sigh and rolling his eyes, he heads for the kitchen. "And you, La Pushians; get on in here."

"Why do you keep calling us that?" Sasha asked, stepping into the living room; she reminded me of a skittish horse, ready to run at the slightest thing.

"_Because_, you live in La Push; hence, you are La Pushians." I explain. "Want anything to drink?" I ask, sitting up and patting the open spot next to me.

"Sure. Got any root beer?" Sasha queried, plopping down next to me.

"Hmm, I think so." Turning to towards the kitchen, I take a deep breath-

"Chill Fae, I'm right here; you don't have to shout." Ken interjects, handing me my drink and setting down a tray with a bunch more on it. "It doesn't take a genius to know they'll want something to drink." I grin;

"Which is a good thing, seeing as you're not a genius." Leaning back, I take the cap of my drink and try it. "Mmmm. Just right. Let's see, this would be the last batch we made before coming here, right?"

"You _**made**_ it?!" Mina exclaimed, screwing the cap off and taking a sip. "This is _**awesome**_!!! How'd you make it?" Me and Ken look at each other and grin.

"Sorry, family secret." We say in perfect sync, still grinning.

* * *

From the kitchen I could here someone knocking on the front door. I hit the intercom;

"DAD! Get the door!" I call.

"Why can't you?" He sounded half asleep.

"Do you want to eat?" I threaten; it always gets him. As if in answer, I hear him on the stairs.

"Coming!" He calls to whoever's at the door.

"Is it dinner time already?!" Lilia exclaims, looking at the clock. "Crap! We're going to be late! C'mon Jase, we've got to get home!"

"Chill! It's all been taken care of." I say, sampling the dish I've just finished.

"Huh?" Jason and Lilia both look questioningly at me.

"We're all staying for dinner." J.B. explains from the doorway. "Now help set the table."

* * *

"Whoa! What is that! It's smells _**so good**_!!!" Kayleb exclaimed; how did I know he would say something like that? That kid seems to be the most food oriented in the group.

"It's my master piece; we're actually not going to eat it, we're just going to look at it." I state, setting the steaming, aromatic platter on the table. He just glares in response. Everyone's here: Lilia, Jason, Mina, Celeste, Sasha, Kayleb, Chris, Chase, Dakoda, Justin, and all their parents. Quite a crowd. I don't think we'll have any left-overs.

"Ve haf homegrown green beans, corn, and limas; ve haf also de dill pickles, mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, salad, and, of course, Huli Huli chicken!!!" Ken announced, using his corny French accent. "And for dessert, ve 'ave the privilege of eating Fae's specialty: vich you vill 'ave to eat to believe!" I groan mentally; he always overdoes stuff like this...

"Well then, I look forward to eating it." J.B. says, obviously anxious to begin consuming that which is laid before him.

"Fae! You didn't tell us you were a chef!" Lilia, of course. Ken is actually the one who does most of the work, but he avoids taking credit; he's always putting me up front, I guess he'd just rather work behind the scenes. I hate it, I wish he'd step up and take all the stupid credit, instead of giving it all to me! I roll my eyes, glare at Ken, smile at our guests, and somehow refrain from running to my room all in the next minute.

"So, are you going to just look at it and complement me _and_ _Trey_, or do you plan on eventually eating it?" I ask, hands on my hips, looking down the length of the table.

"But of course! Ve must first seat the honorable hostess." Ken says, pulling out the chair at the head of the table. Glaring daggers at him, I stay outwardly calm, but inside I can feel myself starting to collapse; not enough sleep and too long of a day. Sitting down, at the head of the table, of course. I somehow manage to grin;

"So, who's ready to eat?"

* * *

I don't think I have ever seen food disappear so fast; and without making a mess, too.

"Wow; that is probably the best food I have ever eaten." Koda's dad, Seth, stated. "And that's saying something." I grin; I can't help it.

"And dessert is still to come." I comment, getting up from my chair and heading to the kitchen. "It's not quite done yet, so it may take a few minutes."

* * *

"Whoa! Fae, you want help with that?" Aw, J.B.'s so nice. He grabs the door and pulls it open for me; I'd been pushing it open with my foot while balancing two trays.

"J.B., you're a keeper!"

"Why else do you think I put up with him?" Renesme joked; smiling to myself, I set the trays on the table.

"What is it?" Dakoda asked as I began dishing it out; and they weren't small servings, either.

"Devil's Manna." I answer; "And before you ask, I call it that because it's so good that it could only come from heaven, but it's so sinfully delicious that it must have been sanctioned by the Devil himself." I watched their faces as they started eating.

"You were right, Trey; you have to eat it to believe it!" J.B. exclaimed between bites. Everyone else is too busy eating to say anything. Grinning, I pick up my plate;

"Bon appetite."

* * *

**Review! **And btw, Devil's Manna is my name for brownie bottom pudding pie, which is quite a mouthful; but really, it's my fav dessert (which is saying something) if anyone wants the recipe, tell me and I'll put it on my profile; it's _so_ easy :)


	8. Invasion Of The Siblings

*Disclaimer: Do I look like Stephanie to you?

Note: For those who have been waiting, sorry, I had a hard time writing this chapter (writers block sucks!) and it turned out a little shorter than I wanted. OrlandoandRacoon Lover (and everyone else who wants the Devil's Manna recipe) it's on my profile :) Thanks for all the reviews so far!

**Chapter Seven**

_If silence is golden, how does it get shattered?_

One thing about La Push; it's very peaceful. But not anymore. You see, it's been two days since our first wild day here, and the rest of my family arrived early this morning. Like, _really _early; so things are going to be more hectic and discombobulating than ever before. Oh, joy...

* * *

I was up before everyone else, so I took the dogs out: they'd come with the rest of the family.

"Echo, Cassie: don't go to far." I call softly to them; Echo trots back to me and sits down, Cassie is still running around.

"Hey; you're up early." Echo lunges to her feet, teeth bared and the beginnings of a growl rising in her throat.

"Echo." I reprimand, turning to see Dakoda standing at the edge of the trees. Cassie runs right up to him, little stump of a tail wagging; Echo's still as stone, teeth still bared.

"Not very friendly, is she?" He commented, looking at Echo.

"Not if you just sort of _appear _out of nowhere and start talking to her master. And, last time I heard, a good guard dog is usually a bit standoffish when introduced to new people." I say, "And she's especially wary because she's a wolf." He took a second look at her;

"Really? That's interesting. How long does it usually take for her to warm up to people?"

"Well, actually, she never has; at least, not to anyone outside of my family. She's constantly on the alert." I explain. "Aren't you?" I ask, scratching behind her ears; "You nut, you."

"And who's this?" Koda asked, petting Cassie.

"That would be Cassie, and she's just barely two months. She's an Aussie; standard size." Hearing her name, she looks at me, then jumps up and starts running in circles and barking. "And, as you can see, is seriously lacking in the manners department. Cassie! Behave!" She stops to look at me for a few seconds, then goes back to running.

"Koda! Where'd you- oh, hi Fae." Mina? And where are they appearing from? "Aww, she's so cute! What's her name?"

"Cassie." That dog is _such_ a ham.

"Did the rest of your family get here last night?" Mina asked; she must have noticed the extra vehicles in the driveway. I nod, not bothering to speak. "Cool."

"Where have you guys been these past few days?" We hadn't seen them since Monday. "Did we scare you away?"

"Oh, we just didn't want to wear out our welcome. We kinda went overboard that first day." She explained.

"Why don't you all come over after lunch? Then you can meet the rest of the family."

* * *

"Good morning, Rissa." Ken says as she shuffles into the kitchen.

"Ba humbug."

"Yeah, you certainly look like one." I comment, grinning. She just rolls her eyes and drops into a chair.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Biscuits and gravy." Dax answers, pushing an already filled plate toward her. Mumbling her thanks, she picks up a fork and starts eating.

"By the way, I invited some friends over this afternoon." I say nonchalantly. Everyone freezes; looking up from my food, I see them all staring at me. "What?"

"When?"

"Oh, just sometime this afternoon."

"Today! Aaaaa! It's already ten o'clock! Holy- that only gives me two hours!" Rissa exclaims, dropping her fork. "Why'd you invite them over on one of my bad days?!" Still ranting, she pushed back her chair, got up and stormed out of the room.

"Jeez, you'd think I dropped a bomb." They all looked at me again. "Hey! I can guarantee that your first day here will be _NOTHING_ like mine and Trey's. Seriously, you have nothing to worry about."

* * *

"They're here!" Dad calls through the intercom. I hear a flurry of movement from Rissa's room.

"Already?! Ah crap!" She exclaims, tearing out of her room and running right smack into me. "Argh! Fae!"

"Sorry! I'm not the one blindly running into people." I argue. Pushing past me, she takes the stairs three at a time. I catch up to her at the bottom of the stairs and we enter the room together.

"Where are they?"

"They just pulled into the driveway." Dustynn answered from the floor where she was working with Cassie.

"Well then, lets go say hello." I say as I pull open the door and step outside.

"Fae!" Celeste shouts, climbing out of the car. "Come here you!"

"Hey! I'm not the main focus here!" I protest. "You still need to meet the rest of the family!" Grabbing Ken, who just came through the door, I pull him around in front of me and duck behind him.

"Fae!" He groaned, "Use someone else for your shield!" I poke my head around him;

"But the natives might be hostile." I whimper in mock horror. "They even split up to surround us better."

"Fae, come off it." Lilia sighed, pulling me out from behind Ken. "Now where's everyone else?"

"They're inside. By the way, where's the guys?"

"Don't worry Fae, they're coming along later."

* * *

We'd been talking for almost an hour when we heard them pull in; even a deaf man could have heard them. One glance out the window and I'm off, in a matter of seconds I'm on the edge of the driveway.

"Sweet ride!" I exclaim, looking appreciatively at the awesome array of motorcycles that just pulled in. Show offs. "Can I ride one?"

"Sure, sure; pick a bike, any bike." Jason replies. I've already picked one: an older S 1000 RR with a custom paint job.

"I want to ride..." I pause for dramatic effect; "_That one._" I finish, pointing, the wild desire to ride written all over my face.

"That one? Are you sure? We have an old G 650 X-Country that would be easier to ride." He suggests. Oh, please.

"Brad always said: 'if you're gonna ride at all, ride a bike that's at least as fast as a jet.'" They just look at me. "Of course, there aren't any bikes that can keep up with a jet, so I'll just have to settle for the next best thing."

"And who is this 'Brad'?"

"One of Trey's old friends." Dax answers; everyone's outside by now. Yay, an audience.

"Okay..." While Jason is processing this bit of information, I walk over to my 'bike of choice'.

"Whoa. This is _my_ bike. I never said you could ride it." Oh boy; it _would _be Justin's bike.

"Come on, let her ride. It's not like it's going to kill you." Justin just crosses his arms and glares.

"Look on the bright side; if I mess up, you get to have a good laugh at my expense." I shrug, "But if you want me to ride a different bike..." I can see his gears turning; looks like I pushed all the right buttons.

"All right, you can ride it; but, if you put so much as one scratch on it, you're paying for it."

* * *

"All right," Jason begins; "The handle on the left is the clutch; the handle on the right is the front-brake. The right grip is the throttle; twisting it is like pressing the gas pedal." He says, pointing to each in turn. "The pegs down here is where you put your feet; that piece in front of the right foot-peg is the rear-brake, and the one in front of the left is the shifter; pulling that up with your toe shifts into a higher gear, down puts it into a lower gear." Wow; is he long-winded or what! "With this bike you don't need to pull on the clutch when you shift, but I want you to do it anyway, it's good practice for when you ride other bikes." I keep nodding, but he just keeps rambling on and on and on and on.... "Neutral is halfway between first and second gear. You can go either a half-click up from first or a half-click down from second." I do a quick run through all the different controls; with the bike off, of course. "Good. When you feel ready, just pull on the clutch, shift into first, then let out on the clutch nice and easy." Must. Refrain. From. Strangling. Him. "To turn it on-" All right, I've had enough!!!

"You push this button, right?" I break in;

"Yep."

"You know, you sound just like a riding instructor I once had; and that is not a good thing." He grins;

"From you, I'll take anything as a complement." The nerve of that- Starting the bike with a roar, I peal out of there; leaving some more than slightly astonished La Pushians and my laughing siblings far behind.

* * *

Review! Tips, advice, suggestions; I don't care, just **REVIEW!!!**


	9. A Change Of Perspective

*Disclaimer: I'm not SMeyer. DUH!

Note: I decideded to change the POV, (I couldn't decide whose POV to change it too, so I kinda went eenie meenie miney moo) This is from Dakoda's POV.

Read it, **THEN REVIEW IT!!!**

**Chapter Eight**

_Now where did she learn to ride like that?_

Jason should think more before he opens his big mouth; I mean, he's a good guy and all, he just doesn't know when _not_ to push it.

"Jase, I think you said the wrong thing, man." Chase commented. He looked puzzled; Jason, not Chase.

"I was just teasing. And when did she ever learn to ride a bike?" Jason wondered aloud. Trey sighed,

"She must've gotten Brad to teach her; I _knew_ she was up to something with him." He shook his head, laughing to himself. "Well, I guess I better go get her." He got on Chase's bike, a new S 1700 RR, started it up, and pealed out of here just about like his sister did.

"Hey!" Chase protested, too late to do anything about it. "What is up with them?!"

"Fae is acting up for the first time in a long time, and Trey's going after her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself." The strawberry blond explained, "How did you guys do it?" Huh? "Oh, yeah; by the way, I'm Arisa, these are my bugly others, Daxton and Alec, and my little sis, Dustynn." She, Arisa, continued.

"I'm Dakoda; this is Jason, Chase, Justin, Kayleb, and Chris." I say, finishing the introductions.

"And what did we do?" Justin queried.

"Well..." Arisa exchanged glances with Daxton before she continued; "Fae had a sort of... accident, and she hasn't been the same since. This is as much like her old self as I've ever seen her." She smiled, "Usually, she'd get in trouble for being reckless like that, but she's taking advantage of our parents; they all but forced her to move, and she wasn't happy about that, so she's acting up because she knows they won't complain because they got what they wanted." Man, she talks fast. "It's kinda funny, not 'ha ha' funny, y'know, but, like, the ironic funny; she probably hasn't even noticed how much better she is now, versus, like, even two weeks ago." Wow. She talks a lot. Is she always like this? "So, whatever you guys are doing, keep it up; it's helping her recover."

"Accident?" Celeste looked puzzled.

"If you want to know the details, you'd have to ask Fae; and I suggest you, like, _not_ ask her." Arisa advised.

"Like we could ask her _now_ anyway." Justin commented snidely, "She took off on _my_ bike, remember."

"What do you mean; she's coming this way now." I mention; Justin was never very good at observing his surroundings. He whips around, and sure enough, Fae comes zipping around the corner, coming low and fast with Trey close behind. Coming to a sliding halt, she pulled off her helmet.

"Man, my hair is _so_ annoying right about now." Pulling out the ponytail holder that held it in a loose knot at the back of her neck, she shook out her hair. Curly, cinnamon colored hair cascaded down her back all the way to her waist.

"Whoa." Jason said, too soft for human ears to pick up. Great, the way things are going, he's never going to leave her alone.

"That's better." She commented, twisting her hair up and pulling her helmet on over it. "Catch you later." She gave a small wave as she took off after Trey. Justin looked fit to be tied.

"Is she _ever_ going to give me back my bike?" Justin said, to no one in particular.

"We'll ask her for you." Laughing, I start up my bike and pull out after them; Jason and the others aren't very far behind.

* * *

"I'm melting! I'm melting!" Fae laughed and squealed at the same time; it had started sprinkling earlier, but when we had just started another lap of La Push, it started pouring. Now we were back at their house; Fae had pulled in first, coming to a screeching halt at the end of their walk, and was now running towards the front door, holding her hands over her head in an attempt to keep from getting wet. Laughing, we all pull up and head for the house.

* * *

"Enjoy your ride, Fae?" Dustynn queried, coming in from the kitchen, hot chocolate in hand.

"Mine." Fae stated, staring at the mug. Dustynn laughed and took a sip,

"Mmmm!" Fae glared, her eyes narrowing to slits. "Oh, don't worry; there's a bunch more on the stove." Fae was gone before she had even finished talking. Dustynn shrugged and walked over to the large bean bag chair and sat down, careful not to spill her chocolate.

"By the way," Fae said as she walked back into the room. "Where's Echo?" As if in answer, a loud snarl erupted from the hall. "Oh CRAP!" She exclaimed, quickly setting her mug down on the closest flat surface; "Why didn't anyone put her up?!" Echo walked in, stiff-legged and snarling for all she was worth. "ECHO! HERE!" She called; heeding the command, Echo walked stiffly over to Fae and sat. Have you ever seen a full grown wolf snarl? It can be quite alarming; especially if the wolf is aggressive. Like this one.

"Wow; is she worked up, or what?" Arisa commented, entering the room, "She started whining when you didn't come to let her out, so I went to check on her, maybe let her out for a few minutes on her leash; once I opened the door, though, she was _gone_! She's been pacing around the house, growling softly and ever so often looking out a window; kinda like what she used to do when there were coyotes or stray dogs around, only a _lot_ more... I don't know; aggressive? Worried? Something like that."

"Well, why didn't you put her up?! What if she had attacked?!" Fae shot at Arisa; she has an impressive snarl of her own.

"Yeah, that's why I didn't get near her; without you or Trey around, I wasn't sure she wouldn't attack _me_! Every time I got near her, she did that!" Arisa pointed at Echo, who still looked ready to attack at the slightest movement. Fae glared at Echo;

"Echo! Be still!" She glanced at Fae, then lay down, still watching us; particularly Jason and Lilia. Fae sighed; "She's never been this aggressive to strangers, except-" She broke off abruptly, "Well, does anyone want to try and introduce themselves?"

"Um, if she won't bite, then I will." Celeste murmured, stepping forward cautiously.

"She won't." Fae replied, glaring at Echo, who looked up at her with an expression of hurt. Celeste nodded, then stepped cautiously forward, hand outstretched. Echo stiffened, but with a word from Fae, relaxed slightly. She gave Celeste's hand a brief sniff, then went back to glaring at the rest of us. We've never encountered a wolf like this; most of them just leave us alone. But then, most of them are wild; this one has been 'tamed' and is dead set against us, taking upon herself the job of protecting her 'pack'. Fae looks around at the rest of us; "Any other takers?"

"Sure, sure;" Jason said; trying to play it cool, he turns to the wolf. "I'm Jason Black, nice to meet you." Stepping forward, he extends his hand. He always tries to move too fast; one of these days he'll learn not to. Without issuing any sort of warning, Echo bites him. Hard. Several things happen in response: Jason starts cussing and tries to beat Echo off as she continues her attack, Trey jumps forward and pulls her off, Fae helps him, then when they have her secured, Fae turns back to Jason, who's still cussing a blue streak, and backhands him across the mouth.

"What was that for?" Jason complains, putting a hand to his mouth; which is bleeding, by the way. She really packs a punch. Not paying any attention to him at all, she turns to the wolf.

"Echo." Echo flinches, looks at the floor and whines. With a sigh, she turns back to us; "Any takers?" Silence. "Look, that's the first time she's ever attacked without me telling her to. I guess she doesn't like you." She states, looking pointedly at Jason. If he ever gets on her good side, it'll be a miracle. An uncomfortable silence settled; it wasn't long before Fae broke it. "She's a lot better when she's been introduced; she decides that you're not any threat to me or Trey, and she won't bother you." Shrugging, she signaled to Echo and headed for the door. She seemed frustrated, so I decided to speak up;

"I'll give it a try." She looked at me, eyebrows raised,

"Okay. Echo, sit." Doing so, the wolf looked up at her questioningly; "Now behave. Dakoda, move slowly and avoid doing anything that she might determine as threatening." Doing as she says, I slowly approach Echo, hand extended and avoiding eye contact; that's one thing Jase forgot. Making eye contact with a wolf, especially an alpha, is a bad idea; to them, it's a challenge, and sometimes is taken as a threat. Avoiding eye contact is submissive behavior, which is like saying: 'the last thing I want to do is bother you, or make you mad'. I could feel the tension in the room as Echo leaned forward to sniff my hand; I felt her breath briefly, then glanced up in surprise when she barked. Her head was cocked to one side, all sign of aggression gone. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Fae silently walked back into the room; Echo had snapped at Jason again, so she had gone to put her up. I think she took a little longer than necessary, probably so she could have a few minutes to herself. I don't think it was a coincidence that the only ones Echo still snapped at were Jason and Lilia; Echo must have sensed that they were different. She was just fine with everyone else.

"Is your hand okay Jason?" Fae asked, sticking her now cold chocolate in the microwave. What really stinks is that he's going to have to wear that bandage for several weeks and pretend it still hurts.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. But my head still hurts." He replied;

"Yeah, well, maybe you should quit trying to use your brain if all you get is headaches; you must have strained something." He looked slightly puzzled, so she continued: "You know how when someone doesn't exercise a lot, they'll pull a muscle when they try to actually do something? That's probably what happened with your brain." The room erupted with laughter,

"Good one, Fae!!!" Lilia exclaimed before bursting into uncontrollable giggles. Jason just rolled his eyes and waited impatiently for everyone to quiet down.

"Ha ha, very funny; why did you hit me?" Fae looked at him like he was stupid.

"Wow you're stupid; if you had even two brain cells to put together, you would know why." She pulled her steaming mug out of the microwave and added more chocolate to it. Knowing that Jason would continue to bother her with dumb questions, I decided to say something before things got out of hand.

"So, do you guys have anything planned for tomorrow night?"

"No, why?" Trey replies, mixing his chocolate. Is it just me, or is everyone in their family a chocoholic?

"Every other Friday we head out to the beach for some volley ball and cliff diving; would you guys want to come, too?"

"Oooo! Sounds like fun!" Arisa exclaimed, "I don't think we're doing anything, so we'll probably be able to."

* * *

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	10. Volleyball, Etc

*Disclaimer: You already know what I'm going to say, so why do I need to say it? :P

FrozenBloom, you guessed almost exactly right: almost all of them are werewolves; she growled and snapped at Jason and Lilia because they're mother is Renesme, which makes them 1/4 vamp. She accepted the others as 'fellow wolves'. Tsunamichikara, I know you know it's a _wolf_ :P YAY! I'm done with the early, not very exciting chapters in which there's not much action! Things'll start picking up faster after this :D

Btw, it's still from Dakoda's POV.

**Chapter Nine**

_Seriously, Jason needs to tone it down._

"Jason! Quit pacing!" Lilia said for the thousandth time, "Good grief! You're going to smother Fae!"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Jason seems to like asking dumb questions.

"Uh, dude; everyone can tell you have the hots for her. Did you imprint on her or something?" Chase asks; we all are kind of curious, he's never paid this much attention to a girl before.

"Shoot, I don't know; I don't think I have. She's just so..."

"You know, if you keep drooling over her, you'll never get on her good side." Mina commented.

"Drooling?! I am _not_!" We all look at him, "Well, I'm not!"

"Riiight, you're _not_." Mina replied, heavy on the sarcasm.

"What are you guys arguing about?" Celeste asked, curious; she'd been talking on her cell. I don't know why they didn't want her to know about us; it's not like she'd flip out if she did. It makes it harder for us; always covering up, coming up with dumb excuses, and outright lying to her.

"Oh, just bugging Jase about his 'Fae obsession'." Lilia replies,

"Uh huh; anyway, I just got off the phone with Fae, they just left their house. She said something about Arisa taking forever to get ready."

"Wait; you have her _phone number_! What is it?" Jason demanded;

"Can you say: over zealous?" I put in; really, he needs to tone it down before it drives the rest of us mad. He glares at me, then looks back at Celeste.

"No. I. Will. Not. Give. You. Her. Number." Celeste growled, "If you want it that bad, ask _her_; then if _she_ wants you to have _her_ number, she'll _give it to you_." Rolling her eyes, she stalks over toward the parking lot.

* * *

Okay, maybe inviting them to the _beach_ wasn't such a good idea after all; what do people normally wear to the beach? If you guessed 'swimsuit', you would be right. And if you guessed that Jason went gaga over Fae... well then, you get major bonus points.

"Fae! I love your suit! Where'd you get it?" Lilia asked; she's La Push's police force. Fashion police, that is. Fae looked at her blankly,

"It's custom made; it was a birthday present." Arisa answered, "I had to talk her into wearing it; but I know how to motivate her." She grinned, "All I had to do was tell her that she would go in that, or I would find -" Arisa wasn't able to finish, due to the fact that Fae's hand was clamped over her mouth.

"Hey! Is that your car?" Fae quits glaring at her sister to glance at Chase;

"Yeah, what of it?" She's probably pleased that everyone's attention is on the car, instead of her.

"It's a 1969 Corvette Stingray, manual transmission; fully restored, with a few modifications, of course." Trey says, grinning; "It belongs to me and Fae; we bought it and fixed it up."

* * *

"Me and Seth are usually the team captains," Jake began, "but just to change things up a bit, we'll let our guests decide."

"Jason and Dakoda." Fae and Trey say together; "Copycat!" They both exclaim, then they laugh.

"No, I think it should be Fae and Trey." Arisa chimes in, grinning impishly. Fae glares,

"If Trey is on the other team, it won't be a game; it'll be _war_."

"Well then, that'll make it interesting." Lilia says; I have a feeling that despite the age difference, Arisa and Lilia are going to be fast friends.

"All right then." Fae replies; she and Trey step out in front of the line. "I get J.B."

"Seth."

"Dakoda."

"Jason."

"Ren." When no one moves and she notices our confused looks, Fae sighs and then explains; "There is no way I'm going to call you Renesme; you are now officially Ren." Laughing, 'Ren' joins Fae's team.

"Leah." Interesting; instead of trying to get all the good players, they're dividing up so that there's an even amount of talent on each team. After dividing up the rest of the players, Fae steps out in front;

"Okay, this is how we're going to do this: we have too many on each team for a good game, so some people are going to have to sit out-"

"What?! I'm not going to sit out; I'm going to play!" Justin objected, interrupting Fae. She rolled her eyes at him;

"_Everyone _will get to play; we're going to have to rotate out, that's all. So which four want to sit out first?"

"But that'll only leave you six players." Claire pointed out from the sidelines; everyone that wasn't playing had gathered to watch, including Fae and Trey's parents, Corrynne and Mason Keylock.

"Yup; just the right amount for a good, fast game." Fae turned to her team, "You four are sitting out?" She asked; Ren, Kayleb, Lilia, and Sam had gathered to one side.

"Yep." Ren answered.

"Okay; that leaves me, J.B., Justin, Dakoda, Mina, and Dax; get in position!" Fae ordered, taking the spot in front of the server. Crouching slightly, she put her hands on her knees; "Let the game begin!"

* * *

"Time out!" Fae shouted, "Half-time break!" And boy, do we need it; Fae wasn't kidding when she said it would be war.

"So, what's the score?" Justin asked as we reached the drink cooler

"What? You mean I was supposed to keep track?" Fae mused, draining her water bottle in a matter of seconds. Justin froze for a few moments, then swore vehemently. Fae glances at me, then reaches for the cooler; grinning, I grab the cooler's other handle. Everyone watched in amusement as ice-water and cold drinks rained down on Justin.

"What was that for?!" He sputtered, wiping the the water out of his eyes.

"To cool your temper." She replied shortly, opening another water bottle.

"How do you tell who wins if you don't keep score?" Jason queried, puzzled.

"Oh, I know the score, it's just not important. No one looses the way we play; we just have fun." She answered after draining her second water.

"But you play like it's life or death!" Sasha exclaimed, "If it's really just for fun, then why do you play like that?" Trey grinned;

"Because it's fun. Also, it helps pull the team together when you play hard and fast."

"Besides that, there's sort of a running competition between Fae and Trey." Daxton added.

"You mean you're making us play our best, not so our team wins, but just so you two can have some sort of private contest?!" Kayleb exclaimed. Fae laughed,

"No! Would you rather play your best, and so become better; or would you rather play half-heartedly and never get anywhere?" Wow; another water bottle sucked dry.

"And what he calls a 'running competition', is really just us trying to best each other in almost everything we do; that's how we decide who's older." Trey explained.

"What?" Justin looked very puzzled indeed.

"We have absolutely no idea which one of us was born first, so we're trying to gain 'predominance' in a different way." Fae said,

"For example; if your team plays better than mine, regardless of the score, then Fae is 'oldest'." Trey added, "At least until I, or the team I'm on, bests her, or hers."

* * *

"Got it!" Fae and I shout at the same time; intent on hitting the ball back over the net, neither of us was watching where we were heading. This would be the second time we've collided this week.

"OWWW!!!" Fae shouted; unfortunately, I landed on her this time. I got off of her as fast as possible: to the human eye, it probably looked like I had landed beside her instead of on top. She had one leg tucked up against her chest and was holding her left foot. "OWWWWWWWWWW!!!!"

"Fae!" Jason was kneeling next to her before you could say 'inhuman speed'. Glaring at him, she turned to her brother, who was also kneeling at her side.

"What hurts Kit?" He murmured softly,

"I think he broke my foot!!!" She growled, glaring at me. "I _totally_ had that! Grrr!!! Then you had to squoosh me!!!"

"Wha? But he landed beside you?" Trey replied, confused. Time to change the subject.

"Are you sure it's broken; can you move it?" I query, moving as if to touch her foot.

"Eeeep!" Fae screeched, scuttling backwards.

"Dakoda!" Jason said irritably, "Don't bother her!"

"_You're_ bothering me more than he is!" Fae snarled; "BUZZ OFF!!!" Grudgingly, Jason backed up, but didn't leave.

"Want me to have a look at it?" Jake asked,

"NO! Don't touch it!" Fae fussed, glaring.

"Fae, move your hands so I can see it." Trey sighed; slowly, she moved them. Trey's eyebrows shot up in alarm: her ankle was already swollen twice it's normal size with some pretty nasty looking bruises forming. "Can I have a closer look at it?" Fae nodded; gently, Trey explored the joint with his fingers, then tried flexing it slightly. Fae's quick intake of breath was the only thing that hinted at the pain it caused; jaw clenched and face blank as she concentrated on blocking out the pain. "Well," Trey said, leaning back; "I don't think it's broken; just a bad sprain." He stood up, then helped Fae to her feet.

* * *

"How's your ankle?" Jason queried,

"You asked me that about thirty seconds ago; do you think it might have magically gotten better since then?" Fae replied, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

"No. Do you want anymore ice?"

"_**NO!**_" She snapped, throwing her drink at him."_**JUST GO AWAY!!!**_" He easily dodged, and was about to say something else idiotic when Lilia clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Jason! Just shut up!" She growled, "Now lets go somewhere where you can't bother Fae." Once they were out of sight, I opened the cooler and got Fae some more ammo in case he came back.

"Thanks." She said, taking the soda thankfully, "Why won't he just leave me alone." She mumbled, taking a drink. Everyone else had gone cliff diving, and most of the adults, including Fae's parents, had gone home earlier, so now that Lilia had dragged Jason off, we were the only ones left at the beach.

"I'm supposing that's a rhetorical question."

"Yup." She took another drink, then looked at me curiously; "I know you landed on top of me; why did Trey think you hadn't?" Oh great; I should have known this was coming. I shrugged;

"Maybe it was the angle he was looking from." She wasn't buying it, but she didn't push me about it.

"And how did Jason get to me so fast? He was farther from me than Trey was." Crap; Jason's gonna pay for slipping up like that!

"He's a good sprinter." She looks at me incredulously;

"So's Trey, and he was closer."

"Ah, but Jason's practically in love with you; mightn't that have given him some extra speed?" I joke, trying to divert her thoughts. She wrinkles her nose and grimaces.

"I wish he had a girlfriend: then maybe I wouldn't have to deal with him."

"He has been on a few dates, but he's never really been that interested in girls; until you came along."

"Wonderful. I'll probably have him tagging along after me for a while, then." Sighing, she finishes her soda and crushes the can. "Hand me another one; I want to have plenty of ammo when he gets back." Laughing, I was handing her another one when a howl split the air. "What was that?" Ignoring her question, I turn toward the direction it came from. This cannot be good; something must have come up. "Did you hear me? I asked you-"

"Fae! Oh, good, Koda's still with you." It's Trey, with everyone else right behind him. "It sounded like it came from somewhere close by-" He was cut off as another howl pierced the night; closer this time.

"We should probably head home; it's almost full dark anyway." Fae says, carefully standing up, she starts toward their car and almost falls.

"You're not in any condition to be walking by yourself." I comment, grabbing her arm to keep her from falling.

"I'll manage if I have to." She retorted, but didn't object to being helped to their car."Thanks." She murmured, glancing at Jason; I imagine that she's grateful for me helping her before he could. "Trey, did Cory and Mase want us to call when we were done?"

"Yeah." Using her free arm, she pulled a black object from the pocket of the cut-offs she had pulled on over her swimsuit.

"Wait, I thought that was a camera." Once again, Jason looks confused.

"It is." She replied, flipping it open and hitting a button. "Mom and Dad." She said, then put it to her ear; Sasha's jaw dropped.

"Is that a _Keylock Infinity_?" Everyone did a double take.

"But it's not supposed to be coming out till _next year_!" Fae just looked at them.

"This isn't the Keylock Infinity; this is the Keylock Infinity_ Expansion_, beta version, of course." Silence. "Oh, hi Mom; we're just leaving; yeah, okay. Bye." Once she hung up, everyone exploded; figuratively speaking.

"WHAT!"

"Where did you get it!"

"How much did it cost?!"

"I want one!" After everyone quieted down, Trey explained as he helped Fae into the car.

"Mason Keylock, our father, is the inventor of the Infinity Card; he lets us try out the beta models before they go on the market. He came up with the Expansion beta a few weeks before we moved." He waited a few secs before he continued; "There's been a few bugs, which have been worked out; it's a camera, a radio, a hand held computer, a GPS, a DVD player, a MP3 player, a video camera, a projector, a recording device, and a phone with an option which let's you talk 'face-to-face' through live video feed. And with a woven carbon fiber casing, it's practically indestructible."

"So that's why your last name sounded so familiar." I say, thinking aloud.

"That's also why you have so much stuff." Justin harrumphed. "But why did you guys move here?"

"Oh; Cory got a job offer; she's a biologist." Fae said quickly, glaring at her siblings as if daring them to say anything else. Just then another howl split the darkness.

* * *

Once again: _**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**REVIEW**__**!**_

And I'd like to know what you guys think of my OCs: which is your favorite and why, which one would you like to be pushed off a cliff, what you like about them, what do you think I could do better, what you would like for them to do, etc. :)

_**REVIEW**_


	11. The Speed Of Time

*Disclaimer: Seriously, why would _I_ want to claim Twilight? If I wrote Twilight, it would be _so_ much different; sry peoplz, but Edward wouldn't even exist. I mean, come _on_!!! 'I don't want a knight in shiny armor; I want a vampire in a silver Volvo' _Puh-leeze!_ Knights in armor kick butt! And vampire's _have never, and will never exist!_ Wow! Bet you didn't know that, did ya? Knights, on the other hand... :P

Sry Twi fans; you can like the books all you want; but that will _never make it real_!!! Move on with your life! But I couldn't care less if you do like it; you're free to have your own opinion, just don't jump on everyone who thinks differently. I have been jumped on because I'm not afraid to state my opinion, just keep this in mind: just because you perceive something one way, doesn't make it truth.

Yeah, I know; it's kinda contradictory for me to say all of the above, but still be writing this fanfic. Get used to it! My life is contradictory; thus, so am I!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Okay, that was weird: but yeah, back to the story :) Yes FrozenBloom, the phone rocks!!! :D And I really like the name I came up with: the Keylock Infinity!

Note: This chapter skips ahead a ways (seriously, do you want me to write each and every mundane happening of two months? Or would you rather me cut to the chase and get to the action?) This chapter isn't particularly exciting, but it leads up to it :P

**Chapter Ten**

_Did anyone ever tell you, that sometimes time beats light for speed?_

It's hard to believe that it's already been two months; it seems like my first week was just last week. Things haven't changed much, though my ankle has been as good as new for quite a while. One thing that has been bothering me ever since that first crazy, wild, hectic day: what are they hiding? And by 'they', I mean the La Pushians: there was the whole 'my aunt's dog, Toby, loved that jacket, so that's why it reeks of dog' episode, then when we played volleyball, that was a little weird, and afterward, that unearthly, kinda wolf sounding howling, the way Koda reacted... like it was some sort of signal, or something; that's happened a few more times, and once, when we were hiking, I found a ginormous track, it could only have been a wolf; bears' tracks look different, but wolves don't get that big... It's kind of, unreal: I don't believe in all that scary, nightmarish, folktale junk. I mean, it's not real, right?

* * *

I heard the front door slam open;

"Hello everyone! Fae! Where are you!" Oh yeah, Lilia and Jason's birthday party is tonight, an all nighter; she must be here to pick us up.

"I'm up here!" I shout from my room; another thing I figured out: they have very good hearing. I can hear the thump, thump, thumping of feet on the stairs, soon enough, she bursts into my room.

"Fae! Are you ready to rumble!" I just look at her; "What?"

"Oh, nothing." I say, looking back at my stuff, a hint of a smile on my lips.

"Uh! It is _so_ something!" She exclaimed, stamping her foot. Laughing, I pick up my bags and head for the door. Rissa's already out in the hall, bag and baggage beside her.

"You moving out, or something?" I ask, looking from all her junk, to her, and back. Rolling her eyes, she picks up a couple of bags and calls for her twin;

"Daxton! Can you give me a hand with this?"

"Sure." After a few trips, it's all in Lilia's car;

"All set? Let's go!"

* * *

"Just drop your stuff off upstairs," She instructed, "Then we're going shopping!" Oh, joy.

"I think I'll pass." I say, "Shopping's not my thing."

"Well then; we'll just have to fix that."

"No, seriously, I might walk around with you, but I'll be bored to death. By the way; where's the guys?"

"They'll be coming later for the party; we're all going shopping so we can have new outfits for tonight!" Yeah, right about now, I think I'd rather be at home. Seeing the look on my face, Lilia tries to persuade me; "We could invite the guys; I'm sure Jason would love to hang out at the mall with you."

"Oh no, no no no!" Ugh! I should've known she would say something like that! "I'll go; but don't expect me to get excited about it."

* * *

Two hours of shopping. Two hours of putting up with a large group of giggly, clothes driven girls. Two hours of going from store, to store, to store, to store... And if I hear 'Fae! This is _so_ cute! Try it on!' _one more time,_ I'm going to scream.

"Fae! We found this _really cute_ outfit! Come see it! You'll love it!" Celeste exclaimed; I was leaning against the wall near the checkout. If it had been anyone but Celeste, I probably would have screamed; but she's a great friend, and she hasn't bugged me about clothes the whole time we've been here. "Come see!" Might as well. We find the rest of the giggly gang next to the dressing rooms with several cart loads of stuff.

"Fae! How do I look?" Mina asks, striking a pose;

"You look fine, but that top is a little too flashy for my tastes. How 'bout you wear those jeans with this top?" I suggest, rummaging through one of the carts, pulling out a midnight blue sleeveless blouse.

"Ooo! I'll be right back!" She exclaims, grabbing the blouse and darting into one of the rooms.

"You have such a good fashion sense, Fae; why don't you like shopping?" Sasha asks,

"Oh, she'll shop like a maniac if she's in the right mood, the right store, or needs something for a special occasion." Rissa replies before I can say anything; "Anyway, Fae, we found _the cutest_ outfit _ever_ in the history of cuteness! _Please_ try it on!" Rolling my eyes, I heave a sigh;

"Alright."

"Eeeee!" All of the girls squeal; good grief, you'd think I'd just announced that I was getting married for all the noise they're making. Sheesh. Rissa hands me a stack of clothing.

"Here you go! And we'll want to see how each outfit looks on you."

"I knew there wouldn't be just one; it never is." I sigh, heading for an open room.

* * *

"Oooo! I _really_ like that one! It looks _so_ good on you!" Lilia gushed; she's said that about every single outfit I've tried on. Good thing this is the last one: I've tried on... too many.

"Here; try on this last one-"

"No, Rissa, that's the fiftieth time you've said that today. No way, no how."

"But I _know_ you'll _absolutely __**love**_ this one." She actually looks like she means it, and maybe, just maybe...

"Oh, alright; hand it here." I demand; taking it, I head _back_ into the dressing room. Before putting it on, I check to make sure Rissa wasn't exaggerating. She wasn't. No way; there's no way they could have found it here. Quickly, I pull off the crazy outfit I had on, having to refrain from laughing in anticipation; it was _so_ worth trying on all those nutty outfits!

"I told you you would love it." Rissa says from the other side of the door, as if guessing my thoughts.

"So, this is the, quote: '_cutest_ outfit _ever_ in the history of cuteness' outfit you were talking about." I state; "Why'd you make me try on all those others first?"

"Trying on all those outfits made you appreciate that one even more." I can hear her impish grin in her voice; unable to keep from grinning, I finish dressing and step out.

"Fae! That outfit is _so_ you!" Celeste exclaims. "I love it!"

"Yeah! You _so_ make that outfit awesome!" Lilia puts in;

"Hey; I make _any_ and _every_ outfit awesome!" I shoot back, grinning.

"It just needs one more thing..." Rissa mutters, "Brb." In a minute she's back; "There; the finishing touch."

* * *

"We're home!" Lilia shouts as she steps through the door, bags crammed full of new clothes in both hands. Finally; now maybe I can collapse somewhere, and I could do with some chocolate right about now. But first, they need help carrying their stuff upstairs.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch, or are you going to help?" Rissa asks, giving me the evil eye.

"I am helping; I'm supervising." I reply, watching from the top of the stairs. "Ya know, if you didn't get so much, it would be easier; I don't have a problem carrying my stuff."

"Yeah, that's because you only bought one outfit."

"Yup; you can only wear one at once. That is, unless you layer; but then it gets bulky and stuffy."

"Jason! Help me!" Lilia called. Laughing, he strolled in from the kitchen.

"Brought back more than you can carry; again." He comments, picking up as many as he can carry; which is a lot.

"Yeah, it's worse than biting off more than they can chew." I add, grinning. By the way: I lectured Jase about his unwanted affection about a month back, and though I know he'll always be waiting for me, as if one day I'll realize he's the only one for me, which I will _never_ happen; he's left me well enough alone, so we're on friendly terms.

* * *

"So, we have a couple hours before the party starts, and as I'm sure you can tell, the guys are all here early." Yeah, it sounds like they're throwing a party in celebration of the party yet to come. "So, us girls are going to hang out it here and do stuff together."

"Now would be a good time for me to present you with my present." I add,

"I already told you; I don't want anything."

"Well, this isn't something you can _have_, it's something you can _do_." I explain, grinning mischievously.

"What is it?"

"Ah, I thought you'd be interested."

"Just tell me!"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Fae!"

"All right, all right; I'll tell you." I leaned toward her, as if I were revealing the worlds biggest secret; "From now, until midnight, you get to do anything with me: clothes, hair, make-up, the whole nine yards."

"Eeeeee! I love you Fae! Thank you!" I knew she'd love it; she's asked me several times if she could give me a make-over. Now that I've given her free license, she's going ballistic. I just hope I don't get scarred for life. "Can I start now?"

"I told you; from _now_ until _midnight_."

"Alright; let's get down to business.

* * *

"What are you girls up to?" We hear from the other side of the door. Hmm, the guys are curious, are they?

"Wouldn't you like to know!" I retort.

"Aw; why won't you tell us?"

"It's none of your business."

"Can we come in?"

"NO!"

"Hey, who wants cake and ice-cream?" That could only be J.B. The only answer he gets from the guys is a wild stampede downstairs. "You girls coming?"

"Yeah, in a minute; we're almost finished." Oh, joy. Once J.B. leaves, they turn they're attention back to me.

"Let's see; you need a few more touch ups on make-up and nail polish, Celeste, work on her hair..." Once they finish, they step back; time for the 'Lilia inspection'. "Hmmm; on a scale of one to ten, you are a one thousand. You pass with a grade of:" She pause dramatically. Oh, please; spare me the theatrics. "Sexilicious."

"Well then, let's go down and knock 'em dead."

* * *

Lilia pokes her head through the doorway into the kitchen;

"Are you ready for this?"

"That depends on what it is." Ken replies, I'd know his voice anywhere. "Does it have anything to do with what you were up to earlier?"

"How did you know?!" Lilia exclaims, "Anyway; are you ready?"

"Sure. Bring it." Ken says, grinning.

"All right; just a sec." Lilia turns from the doorway. "Ready?" She asks softly; everyone nods, I roll my eyes. "Good." She motions to Celeste, who's first in line, then switches to 'announcer mode'.

"La Pushian Productions would like to present their newest fashion line, aptly named: 'A girls' night out'." Apparently, she's done this sort of thing before; when Celeste walks into the room, they clap and cheer, even whistle a bit. Obviously a well trained audience.

One by one the girls walk in, with Lilia bringing up the rear. I stay put in the hall; Lilia's going to announce me individually. I guess she thinks that since I practically never dress up, I need a special intro or something.

"And now, Lilia & Company would like to present their most recent project: Kittiara Fae." Now, for a little twist; I walk in through the other door, the one _behind_ them.

"Well, where is she?" Hahaha!

"Fae! Come on!" Lilia calls, then the guys join in.

"Yeah; don't be shy!"

"We don't bite."

"What are you talking about? I'm right here." I say, laughing when they jump and turn around. "Mwahahahahaha! I got you good!" They're too busy staring; Lila & Co. did a good job, I was hardly recognizable: with good reason. My hair, straightened, was long enough for me to sit on; my outfit? A loose, gold, off the shoulder blouse under a rich, dark purple, lace-up halter top, and faded blue-jeans. Not to mention all the make-up they put on me. It's a wonder that Jason's eyes didn't fall out of his head. J.B., also stunned, turns to Lilia;

"Is that really Fae?"

"Uh, yeah; who else could it be?" I retort, flipping my hair and walking through the guys to where the ice-cream and cake is. After serving myself a generous portion of both desserts, I hop on the counter; once settled, I check to see if anyone has recovered from their shock yet.

"Well boys; did it just get twenty degrees warmer in here, or what?" Jase queried.

"Hey; any time I walk in a room, no matter what I'm wearing, it gets no less than _fifty_ degrees hotter." I object, "That's why I avoid going where it's cold."

"Yeah; because you'd melt all the ice and snow." Ken laughs, serving himself and joining me on the counter.

"How did they _do_ it? You're like a whole different person." Koda still seems a bit dazed.

"Um, a hair straightener, make-up, and going through and making me try on a trillion different outfits before deciding on this one." I paused to take a bite of ice-cream; "It kinda turned into a fashion show. By the way; none of you have really _looked_ at them, have you?" I ask, nodding in the direction of Lilia & Co. "If one more girl walks into this room, it'll explode." Having said my piece, I turn my attention to devouring my dessert. Finally, everyone recovers from shock and realizes that the ice-cream is melting and must be devoured. Soon the room is silent again, but not from shock. They're just too busy eating.

"How much am I allowed to have?" I ask, finishing off my first bowl.

"Just help yourself." Ren answers. Oh boy! I can guarantee that there won't be anything leftover. Not even bothering to get off the counter, I reach over and cram as much ice-cream as will fit in my bowl; it would be too impolite to eat it straight out of the bucket.

"Whoa; Fae, are you going to eat all of that?"

"No. I fully intend to eat more than this." I answer simply. "All I need now is some chocolate, and my evening will be perfect."

"Fae, why did you let them dress you up?" I look up from my ice-cream to see Dakoda looking at me, puzzled. "You look a lot better without all the.." Unable to find the right words, he gestures at my make-up and outfit.

"Because I wanted to give Lilia a gift she could never forget; tonight I'm her doll. I knew she would enjoy it, and it didn't cost anything, either."

"And what do you mean? She's totally drop-dead gorgeous!" Lilia exclaimed.

"No, I didn't mean she looked awful; but she looked just fine before. It's like you turned her into someone else." He explained.

"I know; each time she lets someone doll her up I have a hard time recognizing her. I have to keep reminding myself that she hasn't changed; that she's still Fae." Ken comments.

"If you think _you_ have a hard time recognizing me; I have no clue who's in the mirror." I add, laughing. "That's also why I don't dress up a lot; that way, when I do, everyone falls over from shock and I can eat as much ice-cream as I want." I explain, filling my bowl for the third time.

"Fae, I think you've had enough." J.B. advised.

"But Ren said to help myself, so I'm taking her up on that." I explain.

"You don't sound like you enjoyed yourself much." Lilia looks disappointed. "You're supposed to be having fun."

"I had fun watching you have fun."

"But now I feel like I was torturing you." Lilia pouted.

"I did have fun, but it's not something I like doing _all_ the time; it's only fun when you dress up with a bunch of friends." She looks at me for a minute,

"Well, it's not midnight yet, but you can go change into something else." She suggests, "How about that outfit you bought earlier?"

"Ooooo! Good idea!" Sliding off the counter, I head for the door, then pause; "Did you want anymore pictures before I change?"

"No, I'm pretty sure we have enough."

"Okay! I'm off!"

* * *

Soooo... questions, comments, criticism? I'll get the next one up as soon as possible!

Oh! And I'm ten for ten! But now that I've added a new one... Someone's going to have to review!

(in case you have no idea of what I'm talking about, I'm talking about the ratio of chapters to reviews)

**Btw: congrats to FrozenBloom for being my MAR!!! (Most Avid Reviewer)YAY!**


	12. Unwanted Memories

*Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, duh :P

A good bit of this chapter are Fae's memories, so you'll learn more about her past, which plays an important part later...

Btw, sorry it took me so long; life happens :P

Any way; **READ! _REVIEW!!!_**

**Chapter Eleven**

_So many questions, so few answers..._

"So, what's next on tonights agenda?" Ken queries; we just finished the cake and ice-cream.

"Oh! I know!" I exclaim, "Let's play twenty questions; Keylock style."

"How do you play?"

"Well, we each take turns asking questions, going around the circle till everyone has asked twenty, or more, questions." I explain,

"So it's kinda like truth or dare, only there's no dares?"

"Well, kinda."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"If you have a big group of people who don't know each other very well, it's a blast."

* * *

"That was fun! Can we play again?!" Lilia exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the couch.

"Sure, but I'm thirsty: drinks anyone?" When I walked out the door they were still calling out their 'orders'. Once I reached the kitchen I located a tray, then opened the fridge to collect drinks, then rummaged through the cabinets for snacks. Carefully balancing my loaded platter, I headed back up the stairs; when I walked in the door, I noticed a subtle change in atmosphere. This could not be good.

* * *

As the drinks and snacks got passed around, things seemed normal; but there was an undercurrent of something... I couldn't place it, whatever it was.

"So, who wants to start?" Celeste queried, unscrewing the top of her soda,

"Oh! Me!" Rissa exclaimed; without waiting for an answer, she jumps right in. "If you could only have one wish, what would it be?" She directed her question to Kayleb; he'd shown an obvious interest since he first met her, I thought it was a little creepy, but she loves it. Go figure.

"Hmm..." Grinning, he stared off into space, thinking. "I think, that I would get rid of the.. family curse." When he paused, it seemed that he was searching for a word to describe what he was talking about; family curse? I noticed a few pointed looks directed toward him, seriously, what is this all about?

"If you could be anything, or anyone; what, or who, would you be?" It was Celeste's turn, and she was asking Ken.

"Well, I'm just fine being who I am, but if I had to be something, I would be an alligator snapper." Everyone looked surprised, so he explained; "First of all, most people leave them alone; they aren't called _alligator_ snappers for nothing, plus, they're long lived, on the endangered species list, and pretty much all I'd do is eat and sun myself on a log." When he finished, he leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head, and put his feet up. Everyone laughed; it was all too easy to picture Ken doing nothing but eating and sunning himself all day.

Justin's next;

"Why is it that you don't swear?" Earlier he had asked why I whacked people when they cussed; I answered that since I didn't swear, it bugged me when others do; I also added, 'it's unnecessary and doesn't fix a situation, it can only make things worse.', he had then asked why I didn't swear. I, of course, told him that he's only allowed to ask one question at a time, but since that was the last round, he wasn't able to ask. Ha.

"Well-" I begin;

"-it goes like this: she _used_ to cuss worse, and more often, than anyone else you have ever heard." There were quite a few disbelieving looks; why am I not surprised?

"Look, before we were finally adopted about four years ago, we were shuffled from family to family, and never stayed anywhere for very long-"

"-the longest amount of time we ever spent with one family was three months." Ken adds,

"And believe me, it was hard. Anyway; sometimes the people we were with cussed, sometimes they didn't, and I started picking up words at a young age. After a while, I had a very colorful assortment, and in more languages than one. I was frustrated and angry all the time; cussing was one way of venting, only it never helped, it just made me feel worse, and it drove people away. But no matter how hard I tried to cut back on those words, I could never get it to work; I always went back to doing it, and I hated myself for it. It went on like that for several years.

"One day, we were hanging out with our friends; one of them was _very_ Christian, and he had asked us to avoid swearing when he was around. No one else had much of a problem with it, but I did. We had just raided the fridge and were headed outside. I tripped and landed on what I was carrying; most notably of which was grape juice."

"Ouch! You must have been covered with it." Celeste commented,

"Oh, I was more than just covered in it; I was soaked to the skin! What do you think happened next?"

"You started cussing?"

"Yup; long and loud. When she finally stopped, everyone was so shocked, you could have knocked us over just by looking at us." Ken answered; "I was used to hearing her, but I'd never heard her whole repertoire at once; it was quite... long." I got a lot of surprised looks; really, they don't know me as well as they think.

"Anyway; earlier in our conversation, before all this took place, we had somehow wound up on the subject of stunts we had done, and I had bragged that I never turned down a dare; which was, of course, somewhat stupid." I laugh ruefully, remembering how unstable my life had been.

"So, our friend, Abel, breaks the silence: 'You never turn down a dare, right?'-" Ken says, continuing the story,

"-'Yeah, that's right' I said, and I almost cussed him out again. I felt _so_ awful."

"'Well then; I dare you to _never_ say a _single _swear word _for the rest of your life._' was his only reply." Ken finished; everyone in the room was silent for a few moments,

"And you've never said a swear word since?!" Justin looks quite incredulous.

"That's right; it was actually a relief."

* * *

Only a few more rounds left; we're on round/question eighteen.

"Jason, your turn." Looking at me, he talks slowly, as if he's not quite sure how to word it;

"What exactly... happened before you moved here?" Ohhhhh crap; I'm in for it now. I hadn't really noticed how serious this 'game' had gotten.

"What makes you think anything happened?" I ask, masking my emotions with a casual question. Wrong thing to do.

"On your first day here, right after you had gotten Justin, you snapped at Trey: 'yeah, so good that we moved' or something like that. And Rissa said something about an 'accident'." I look at Rissa, eyebrows raised,

"She did? How very interesting." I muse; everyone's looking at me now. But how can I tell them?

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Koda adds softly. For a few minutes, everyone is quiet, waiting for my response. I don't want to relive it by talking about, but it's been weighing me down; it's just too painful...

"Well..." I say, stalling; before I know it, the whole story starts falling out of my mouth.

"Last summer..."

* * *

_I walked through the doors of the hospital; yesterday, Jayme had had a bad fall off_ _of one of the three year olds we had been starting. She'd been knocked unconscious, and her arm had fractured badly, but I don't think it will keep her from riding; nothing keeps her from riding._

_"Are you visiting?" The nurse asked, _

_"Yes; I'm here to see Jayme Johnston, I called just before I got here." The nurse nods, then gives me directions to her room. As I walk down the hall, I'm reminded just how much I dislike hospitals: clean, smelling of rubbing alcohol, medicine, blood, sometimes even of death. Gives me the willies. Finally, I reach her room;_

_"Hey, Jaymes; you feeling alright?" Hearing her nickname, she looks up from the book she's reading._

_"What's up, Faery? Come have a seat." After we'd been talking for a while, a doctor walked into the room; from his looks, he could've been a model._

_"How are you feeling Jayme?" He asked, clipboard in hand. I hate clipboards; so organized, it makes people look more solemn than they really are. But they're handy if you want to smack someone without hurting them too bad._

_"Much better, thanks. When will I get to go home?"_

_"As soon as we're sure you're over your concussion; you hit your head pretty hard."_

_"Good thing I'm hard headed." She joked; she doesn't realize how close she was to- I jerk back from the thought, it's just too awful. Looking from the clock, to me, Dr. Model calls my attention to the time;_

_"Visiting hours are just about over; Jayme needs her rest."_

_

* * *

_

_"How was Jayme?" Ken asks as I walk into the living room,_

_"Better." I reply shortly; I really don't feel like talking to anyone right now, not even to my twin._

_"Probably won't be long before she's back up on a horse; nothing will ever keep her from horses, not even death." He commented; but to me, especially now, death is not something to joke about. Grabbing some crackers to munch on, I head for my room._

_* * *_

_Jayme has been out of the hospital for a week, but she was forbidden to ride for a while; today's her first day back at the ranch and for and for now all she's allowed to do is groom horses and work with them from the ground. _

_"How are the threes coming along?" We've been working with the foals, or 'fuzzbuckets' as we call them, all morning; and though she can't ride, she's been interrogating me about the three year olds constantly._

_"They're doing good; Shifter has been just as difficult as ever, though."_

_"No change there; I wish we could just get through to him, he's the best in the lot-"_

_"With the worst attitude and manners of any horse we've worked with so far. Oh, and Val says you're not to work with him at all for a few months, and that if he doesn't improve-"_

_"They can't sell him! They just can't!" Nervous from the anger in her voice, the foal she's working with, Kiss Me If You Can; Kiss for short, starts dancing around, head in the air. "Shh, sorry baby; easy now." Rubbing her gently, Jayme gets her to calm down easily._

_

* * *

_

_Frustrated, annoyed, and every other synonym you can think of for those words, I steered Shifter back into the pattern. The horse was unpredictable, definitely a right brain extrovert if there ever was one, this was the fifth time in less than two minutes!_

_"You might as well star over." Jayme calls from the rail. Pulling him around abruptly, I head back to the middle of the arena. We've tried everything with him, but he won't concentrate, and he's constantly fighting for his head. Frustrating us seems to be the only thing he lives for! One pivot, the other, lope- no! Having broken the pattern once again, I spun his in circles, then started on something so simple, a week old foal could do it. If he messes up, it's intentional._

_"There you go!" Jayme shouts encouragingly as Shifter completes the pattern flawlessly. When he quits fighting his rider, he's brilliant; easily worth several thousand as just a stud, even without any trophies. Perfect conformation, smooth way of going, bloodlines bluer than any royal in the world, and lots of color; but if he passes this sort of attitude onto his foals..._

_"Let's stop here for today; did you saddle Stardust?" Like most of the horses, Stardust is just her nickname: her registered name is Dusting the Stars, and Shifter's is Moonlight's Shifting Shadow._

_"Yep." She replied, opening the gait for me. She walks beside Shifter, and together we walk back to the barn..._

_* * *_

_Flashes of light. Shadows. Panic. Fear. Running. Darkness..._

_

* * *

_

_The last thing I remembered was that I had been riding Shifter; where was he? Then I became conscious to the fact that I was lying down, and my head was throbbing awfully bad... okay, what on earth happened? Opening my eyes and looking around, I decided I was in the hospital... what?! Then images started coming back to me: the rabbit starting out from underneath Shifter, him spooking, rearing up, then running, Jayme shouting, a few sharp turns... then nothing. Groaning, I realized I must have come off him; quickly, I assessed my injuries. Aching head, probably a slight concussion, a little stiff and sore, of course, but nothing else. Sitting up, I realized that I must arrived not very long ago, because I was still in my grubby riding clothes, my boots were still on, and I was on top of the covers; all of which were good signs. If I were seriously injured, there'd be nurses and doctors bustling around, and my boots probably wouldn't still be on. As it was, I didn't see anyone, and as I looked around, I noticed that the 'room' I was in, was really just a curtained of square/rectangle. Now, to sign myself out; there wasn't anything wrong with me, so why am I even here? Swinging my feet around, I stood up; immediately sitting back down on the bed and the world swirled around me. Okay, maybe I'd hit my head a little harder than I thought. Gritting my teeth, I stood up again, slower this time._

_"You should still be in bed." Hey, I knew that voice; Dr Model! Does he always treat the patients that fall off of horses?_

_"Yeah, right; tell you what, when I get home, I'll go right to bed with an ice pack, some Tylenol, a whole gallon of mint chocolate-chip ice-cream, and a spoon." Carefully, I take an experimental step towards the door._

_"Sit down and-"_

_"NO, I will recover just fine at home, where I won't run up a big hospital bill; I'm not injured bad enough to be confined to a hospital bed." I take another step toward the door; he looks at me thoughtfully, then opens his mouth to answer. Not waiting to see what he has to say, I head out the door. And run smack into a tall, really cute guy, which slows me down enough for the doctor to grab my arm._

_"You can't make me stay here!" I fume, pulling his hand off._

_"Hey; what's all this?" Cute-Guy-That-Gets-In-The-Way asks,_

_"She wants to go home-"_

_"There is no point in my staying here, and there is no point in explaining." I retort sharply,_

_"I was going to tell you that you could go home if you had someone else to drive you." He finishes;_

_"Oh." I think through my options: Mom and Dad are at work, Rissa and Daxton are out, Ken is working, and Alec and Dustynn are too young to drive, "Curses!" I mutter, "There's no one to drive me home." Narrowing my eyes, I glare at Dr. Model; "I'll walk home." Turning on my heel, I head toward the exit; at least I start to, then I realize I don't know which direction it is._

_"Um, doctor dude: could you direct me to the exit? Or will you not tell me because this is a maze designed to confuse unruly patients?" I ask, turning around, hands on my hips, to glare at him. Again._

_"It's this way." Okay... creepy, that one guy has just been standing there, listening to our entire conversation. And really, he's creepy more than cute. I just look at him; weirdo._

_"First of all, how far away from here do you live?" Dr. Model asks, "And I don't think we were ever introduced."_

_"About... ten miles from here, my name is Fae, and that's all I'm going to tell you."_

_"Ten miles is a long way to walk." Creepy/Cute dude comments,_

_"Wow, you're really good at stating the obvious; you must have had a really good teacher." I retort; enough is enough, I'm out of here. I turn back around and stalk off; I'll find the way out eventually. I here a shout behind me:_

_"Hey!" Too late mister! Once I'm around the corner, I take off, dodging down the next hall I find. Hey, I'm good; I found the way out. Casually, I walk by the nurse at the front desk. Good thing I'm not in a hospital thingy; she'd have never let me by so easy. Hahaha! Home free! Once through the doors, I take stock of my surroundings, get my bearings, and set of at an easy jog for home. If it weren't for the fact that I was wearing blue-jeans and boots with spurs, I'd look like I was out for a run... Ooo, I just gave myself an idea. I slow to a walk, and locate the nearest Good Will; I'm in luck, there's one just up ahead, across the street. Once I'm there, I find some gym shorts, tennis shoes, and a backpack. After making my purchases, I walk to the gas station next door; in the bathroom, I change. Using the hair tie that was on my wrist, I pull my hair up and back, twisting it into a loose knot. There: now I look like any other person out for a jog. Putting my jeans and boots into the backpack, I put it on, adjusting it so it fits right._

_

* * *

_

_On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again, I don't know how this song goes, but I can't wait to get on the road again... Humming to myself, I check my watch: 3 o'clock._

_"Hey!" What the- no way! Please do not tell me he followed me!!! No such luck; a dark blue convertible pulls up along side me,_

_"What are you?! Some sort of stalker?!!! Ugh!" Good thing there's people around._

_"No! Ten miles is just a long walk, so I thought I'd offer to give you a ride."_

_"What; so you can kidnap me?" Frustrated, he runs one hand through his already tussled hair. Hahaha! People are so interesting to watch when they get annoyed _

_"Then could I walk with you?"_

_"Wow; you really are desperate." I muse, grinning slightly. He sighs in frustration,_

_"Look! A girl like you shouldn't be walking by herself; something could happen." Hmm, he really does look kinda worried..._

_"First of all, I'm not a girl: I'm all woman! Second of all, the last person who tried messing with me ended up in the emergency room, and I have my Buddy with me, so I don't think you need to be too worried." He looks at me curiously;_

_"What do you mean; you're by yourself? Aren't you?"_

_"Things aren't always what they seem." I reply vaguely;_

_"Look, even if you would normally be safe, there's been weird things happening lately; haven't you heard?" Oh yeah; there's been a series of murders these past few weeks... I stop in my tracks; that weirdo had been distracting me, so I had continued going straight, instead of turning right onto N. Nebraska St. Now I was almost to the not so good side of town. And extremely close to the abandoned church; the one where the bodies of all the murder victims had been found. I freeze involuntarily; **someone's watching me... or something.** _

_I feel numb, like my body has shut down, but my mind is still perfectly clear; I can almost feel it expanding, taking in my surroundings... is this what people mean when they've had an 'out of body' experience? There's something in the church, **something evil...** Then everything is back to normal; startled by the sudden change I gasp. It felt like I had just snapped back into my body; like I had just gotten free, only to be sucked back in. What is happening to me?_

_"Um, Fae. I have a bad feeling about this." He's behind me now, but I already knew that. "By the way, my name's Kyran." I hear what he's saying, but it sounds far away; I guess I'm too focused on- **something moved,** I know it did. Crap..._

_"Fae, I think we should leave. NOW." To add emphasis on his words, he rests a hand on my shoulder, and somehow, I can move again,_

_"Yeah, you're right." I took a step back, not taking my eyes off of the front door to the chapel. Now every cell in my body is telling me to run; far and fast. **Run, run, run, run; don't stop, don't stop, don't stop-** I shake my head to clear it; why run when there's a car right here? I take a step towards it, but then I freeze again. **I can't get in the car, don't get in the car; run, run, run, run, run!!!**_

_**

* * *

MWUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!**_ Cliffy!

Hey! This is my longest chapter so far!... Anyway, these are the memories that are flashing through her mind as she tells her 'story'; I just thought it would be more interesting for you to have the whole story, unabridged, instead of the extremely shortened version she gives the La Pushians. This sort of thing (a story inside a story) is called a framed story.

Btw, this isn't the end of her memory, just the chapter. Note: pay attention to details, because, as I said earlier, this plays an important role later.

Now, you see that button? Yeah, the one that says: 'Review this Story/Chapter' in green letters. _**PUSH IT AND WRITE ME A REVIEW!!!!!!!**_


	13. The End Of My Explanation

*Disclaimer: We all know that I do not own Twilight.

Okay, more memories; they're what's running through her head as she answers the La Pushians, you just catch the end of the abridged version she gives them.

So, when I got back earlier this week, I didn't feel like I'd put everything that was needed into the chapter, so I added!!! Yay me!!! New chapter as soon as I can manage it :)

**Chapter Twelve**

_Wouldn't it be simpler if everything was what it appeared to be?_

Focusing, I brought my mind back to the present; of course, I was giving the La Pushians the abridged version. Well, more like: the extremely shortened, edited, and majorly abridged version...

* * *

_I shiver, but not because I'm cold; it's the middle of summer for crying out loud. It's because what happened back there was... totally beyond creepy._

_"Is something bothering you?" Kyran asks, glancing at me curiously._

_"Well, yeah; right now I'm in the car with some guy I don't know, who has stalker-like behaviors."_

_"Like what?"_

_"Like following me in his car from the hospital, then persuading me to get in the car with him." I look at him, my gaze cool; "If you try anything, there won't be enough left of you to bury."_

_"Really?" He grins slightly, "And what makes you think that I wouldn't stop you?"_

_"You just keep on thinkin' that." I go back to watching the ground pass by._

_"Is that a southern accent I hear?" He queries; I can feel him watching me. And he's getting annoying._

_"What of it? I grew up in Kentucky; that's how I got involved in horses." I shoot back; jerk, why won't he just leave me alone? And, like, drive the car in silence?_

_"Do you work with horses a lot?" Good grief! Enough with the questions!_

_"Yup; just about everyday. I was working with a particularly difficult horse before I woke up in the ER." Maybe he'll get the hint if I keep brushing him off..._

_"What-" Okay, he's not going to get the hint; and I've totally lost my patience with this dude._

_"Just. Shut. Up." I snarl, turning from the scenery to glare at him; this is the look that stops everybody, even jerks like this. For the next ten minutes we drive in silence. Hallelujah! But of course, by now he's beginning to wonder how far he has to drive before we reach my house. Like I would have him actually drop me off there._

_"So... How long does it take to get to your house?" _

_"Take the next left, go one mile, take another left, go another mile; you'll reach a four-way stop and take another right." I reach over and turn on the radio; with the top down, I have to crank it up in order to hear anything at all. Now, to find the right station... Finally, I find one that suits me; leaning back, I take out my hair tie and shake my hair loose. Leaning out of the 'window', I prop my chin up on my hands and sigh as the wind brushes through my hair; putting knots in it that will take at least half an hour to brush out. _

_"You know, if it weren't for your hair, I would never have recognized you."_

_"Hmm. I knew I should have dyed my hair." I mumble sarcastically; "And cut it."_

_"I think it's fine the way it is."_

_"Oh yes, as if your opinion matters." Though he can't see my face, I roll my eyes. Puh-lease! He stays silent until he's taken the last right;_

_"How much farther?"_

_"Stop here." Puzzled, he pulled over._

_"There's nothing here..." Before he tries to stop me, I unbuckle and vault over the door, grabbing my backpack along the way. I stand, arms crossed, glaring at him._

_"But- I can't just leave you!"_

_"On the contrary: you can, and you **will****!**" He hesitated for a few moments more, then made a u-turn and headed back the way we had come. Once he is out of sight, I turn and dash into the ravine behind me; **I. Cannot. Stand. That. Guy!!!** Ugh!!! After hiking a quarter mile, I reach home; at last! Letting myself in through the back door, I drop my backpack on a chair and look around. I don't here or see anyone, so I give a shout:_

_"Yo! Anybody home?!" I hear a answering shout from upstairs. It sounds somewhat muffled, and I can hear water running; that's right, Alec probably just got back from soccer practice, and now he's in the shower. Good, with no one around, I can dig out my chocolate! _

_* * *_

_It was a few days later when things started happening. It was just an ordinary day, I'd promised Dustynn that I'd take her to the park, and of course she insisted that we bring Echo along._

_"Alright Dustynn; keep yourself and Echo out of trouble, and if she gets out of hand, bring her to me."_

_"Okay!" With Echo's leash in hand, she took off. I shake my head, smiling; she's always so eager and cheerful, it rubs off on everyone around her. I walk over to the nearest tree; I'm going to get comfortable, which is hard, because the ground is. Sprawling in the shade on my stomach, feet in the air, I open the book I brought along. It's fairly old, most of the corners are bent, the cover is a little torn, and the pages are some what yellowed with age, but I don't care, it's still a good book. This will be my... seventh time reading it; The Lonesome Gods, by Louis Lamour. I'm almost to the 20th chapter when I notice that something's different. I pause for a moment, trying to figure it out. Ah, there's someone leaning against the tree; I look up, then sit up and scoot backwards. Not him again!_

_"That book must be good: you didn't look up when I walked over, or when I called your name." Oh great, how long has he been standing there?_

_"So, what does my stalker want today? Another car ride?" My tone is cool and loaded with sarcasm; I'm on my feet now, ready to run if I have to._

_"Okay, I know it was weird for me to follow you, but ten miles is too far to walk in the summer, especially if you've just had a concussion." Sighing, he runs his hand through his rust red hair; annoyed , of course, "And, as I pointed out, you shouldn't be walking alone. Not with a murderer on the loose."_

_"Whatever." I turn to head back to my car, scanning the area for Dusty and Echo. They're not in sight, so I let loose one of my infamous whistles; if Dusty is too far away to hear it, Echo will, and she'll let Dusty know it's time to go._

_"Wait!" He grabs my arm, but I twist around and knock his arm away,_

_"What!" I snarl, arms hanging loose at my sides; it may not look like it, but I'm ready for action._

_"Look, can't we just pretend that Tuesday never happened? Like this is the first time we've met?"_

_"Look out!!!" Dustynn?! Wha? I turn to see Dusty running hard, headed straight for me. Then I realized what the problem was;_

_"ECHO! NO!" She didn't slow down in the slightest; if anything , she increased her speed. And she's headed straight for Annoying-Dude/Kyran-Person. I lunge forward, barely in time to head her off. Even though I'm on top of her, she keeps struggling, trying to reach Kyran. "Echo! HOLD!!!" Grudgingly, she relaxes: she's still staring intently at Kyran, a deep snarling rumbling through her chest._

_"Is that a wolf?" He asks mildly;_

_"Uh, yeah; isn't it obvious?" I hate dumb questions. Especially since Echo renews her efforts when she hears his voice._

_"I'm sorry Fae! I heard your whistle, but as soon as you came in sight, she went stiff, then bolted." Dustynn blurts when she catches up,_

_"Not your fault." Keeping a firm hold on her collar, I slowly get off of her; "Let's get her in the car before she decides to kill somebody." We practically have to drag her back to the car._

_"Anyway, nice meeting you Fae."_

_"Yeah; see you later." Starting up the car, I back out; then with a squeal of tires, I'm gone, leaving nothing behind but a business card for the veterinary office I work at. I mean, why not give him half a chance?..  
_

* * *

"We started out as friends, just hanging out; but a month later, he asked me out. After that, we were together a lot: we both enjoyed each other's company, and he turned out to be a really nice guy." I sigh, "But after a while, things started falling apart: some days he wouldn't show up when he said he would, and though he always had good reasons, something seemed out of place... like he was keeping something from me." I pause for a few moments before I continue. "I confronted him with it several times, but he always skirted around that topic. And whenever there's silence, the worst will be assumed." I hate talking about this: I get too emotional... "I knew I had to do something, but nothing I tried worked- I knew I couldn't stay in a relationship like that." Taking a deep breath, I pull myself together, as well as away from my memories. "So I broke up with him." Everyone remains silent; I'm sure Rissa, Dax, and especially Ken, are remembering everything that went, as well as the aftermath which resulted in Corrynne taking the job that brought us here.

"Post-breakup must have been what Arisa was talking about; must've been pretty bad." Sasha commented, the empathy clear in her eyes.

"It must have really hurt to let him go; you really loved him, didn't you?" Koda, of course; he always gets right to the heart of the problem. The rest of them are silent, though Jason looks like he wants to say something. Celeste leans over and gives me a hug: she has a knack for being empathetic in a way that doesn't make me feel like she pities me. I loathe, hate, and despise being pitied.

When she lets go, I stand up:

"Who's up for more drinks?"

* * *

In the kitchen, I pause: I can't believe I told them, that I actually wanted to! What's wrong with me! I lean on the counter, trying to sort my tangle of emotions; I'm relieved, confused, worried, reluctant, overwhelmed, upset, hurt, and even... glad? My face in my hands, I try to pinpoint the different emotions, and why I'm feeling them. All it does is pull the tangle into a knot, which in turn gets stuck in my chest; securely wedged, and quite heavy. Sighing, I gather the drinks and head back up the stairs; each step increases the weight in my chest...

"Of course there's more to the story than that: she totally shortened it! Duh!" I freeze, barely within earshot: I knew this would happen, but I'd hoped they would wait till I went home. Out of sight, silent, I wait to see what they're saying; I want to find out how much they know, how much my siblings have told them.

"Actually, we don't even know the whole story; she would never talk about it. She just bottled everything up." That would be Dax; doesn't seem like they've told them much...

"You know, you're going to have to make it up to her." Ken...

"Why?"

"Because you asked her such a... painful question." I can feel the suppressed frustration in his voice; it annoys him to no end when people are inconsiderate of others, especially me.

"How much you wanna bet that she'll ask _you_ questions that you don't want to answer?" Rissa said jokingly, but I knew she meant it; there was a certain edge to her voice. I smile grimly; if they push Rissa too far, they're going to be very surprised. They have no idea what they are dealing with. Shaking my head, I turn and go back down the stairs; I'll wait a few secs before heading up. Silly of me to think that they would have told them anything of importance. I turn and head back up the steps; guess what happens?

"Hey!" This time it's Jason, not Dakoda, that I run into. I stumble back a step. "What is with you people and running into me?!" How lovely; the drinks are all over the floor, a few of them busted. This was the Blacks first try at homemade root beer, and a few of them had hit the floor at just the right angle: glass bits were everywhere. Great.

"Sorry Fae, you're too fast." I smile sweetly;

"Not as fast as you." He pauses, his eyes giving away his puzzlement,

"Huh?"

"Lagging a bit Jason? It's okay, not everyone has Blink." I say consolingly, patting him on the head.

* * *

"What time is it?" Rissa queries, stifling a yawn.

"About 2:37am." Rissa groaned,

"I'll never make it!" She cried dramatically, slumping against Kayleb.

"You can sleep, no one's going to stop you." He said softly, putting an arm around her; she settled in comfortably. Okay, time to break this up. As inconspicuously as possible, I pull my bag around front and carefully pull something out.

"What's that?" Rissa asks sleepily; I just grin,

"Unlike you poor, unprepared souls, I brought something along to make sure I made it through the night wide-eyed and bushy tailed." I got a few grins; my analogies, metaphors, and similes amuses them to no end, especially when I lay on my southern accent: usually, it's hardly noticeable. That is, unless I'm frustrated or angry; then it's more pronounced. Anyway, I start pulling out more things from my bag: two butter knives, a baseball cap, three dice... by now Rissa is sitting bolt upright.

"You did _not_!" I grin,

"Did _so_!" Dax grins and moves closer, Ken rolls his eyes and does the same.

"Just don't use pressure points this time." The La Pushians look puzzled;

"What? Are you _all_ lagging now? Or do you mean to tell me you've never played this game before?!" All I get is blank looks; I feign severe shock, "You've _never_ heard of this game!!!! How scandalous!!!" Dropping the act, I grin mischievously and start laying things out. "Don't worry, I'll teach you."

* * *

Okay, some of you might wonder what Blink is: it's sort of an 'internet', but a ton simpler and faster. It's kinda like the ansible in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series. It allows you to send/receive things instantaneously, and it's built into (the newer computers), or can be added onto every computer, and it's impossible to have lag; but it's fairly new, so not everyone has it yet. And yes, if you guessed that Keylock Tech came up with it, you guessed correct: Mason didn't invent it all by himself though, it was a group effort :)

And yes, I changed the name from Swift to Blink; it just fits better q:

Anywayz my peoplz, I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can get it written :)

Questions? Comments? Corrections? REVIEW!


	14. An Eventful Night

*Disclaimer: I only lay claim to my OC's; SM can have hers, I don't want 'em.

I'm so excited! I finally finished a new chapter!!!!!! Writers block is **_SOOOOOOOO_** annoying, you have no idea! (unless you're a writer too, then you know exactly what it's like, lol)

Romahnehalquwenuthus: there's **_always_** room for improvement!

Not very many reviews = writer doesn't know how well she/he is doing = worrying because she doesn't know what they think about it = less writing cuz I'm worried XP TAKE THAT! THOU ANNOYING BROTHER!!!! BWUAHAHAHAHA!!!

*ahem*

Okay, this is from Jason's POV; and if you're wondering about the chocolate game, ask and I can post the rules on my profile (:

**Chapter Thirteen**

_There are no rules when it comes to chocolate..._

"DOUBLES!!!" Fae squeals, snatching the hat, gloves, and knives from Lilia. This was our third game so far, and everyone was wide awake; bright eyed and bushy tailed, as Fae would say. Then the dice are shoved in my direction, and there's no more time for thought. I roll quickly: a three, a six, and a one, no doubles. I pass them on to my left: Justin rolls, then gives a shout.

"DOUBLES!" Fae pauses momentarily, then drops some chocolate into her mouth. "Hey! GIVE IT!!!" Fae snatches up another piece and eats it, totally ignoring him, so he lunges forward, just far enough so that he can reach Fae and start taking stuff from her, but by now, Kayleb has doubles, so he takes all the stuff from Justin. Once Fae had explained the rules, we played it slow; our second game was faster, and now we were playing full speed. You never saw chocolate disappear so fast in your life!

"DOUBLES!!!" This time, it's Arisa, but she doesn't have to grab them from Kayleb; he tosses them into her lap. She barely gets the hat and gloves on when Koda snatches then from her;

"STRAIGHT!" One of Fae's variations to the original game; if you get, say, a two, a three, and a four (aka: a straight), which means you automatically get one third of what's left. And we just barely started!

* * *

"That was a good game." Rissa comments, leaning against the couch, pulling something out from behind her...

"Hey! That's MINE!" Fae exclaims; it's one of those mega chocolate bars, Trey calls them 'Fae sized'. Rissa unwraps the top and starts to take a bite. Big mistake. Fae launches herself across the five or so feet of space in between her and Rissa; after a brief tussle, Fae has her pinned. Mental note: even though you're plenty strong enough, don't bother Fae; especially when there's chocolate involved. It's kind of ironic: some guys are put off by a girl that is confident in her ability and unafraid to fight, maybe even welcoming one. However, that's part of what made her so interesting, and didn't phase me in the slightest; if anything, I liked her all the more.

" Fae-"

"I'm not going to let you go until you give me back my chocolate!"

"Alright! I can't give it to you if you don't let me up!" Fae relaxes her hold, only to have Rissa throw the chocolate across the room to- me? As my brain is trying to process this, Fae is already halfway across the room; not good! I jump up and backwards;

"Fae, take it easy!" I exclaim, tossing the chocolate towards her. It sails over her shoulder and lands next to Lilia, who picks it up, mischief glinting in her eyes. Whirling around, Fae glares at her.

"You want this Fae?" Her only answer is a low snarl... all of us do a double take; this is as 'animal' as we've seen Fae. Teeth bared, leaning forward slightly, snarling; she looks like a... vampire... only with a tan.

"You must have a death wish, Lilia."

For a split second, Lilia looks like she's going to hand it back, then she dashes out the door. Once she's gone, Fae relaxes her stance and looks around before bursting into laughter;

"You guys look like fishes out of water!!!" Then I realize that my mouth is hanging open, as are everyone else's, except Dax's, Rissa's, and Trey's; they're too busy laughing. "Did you think I was turning into an animal or something?"

"Aren't you going after her?" Mina asks, puzzled by Fae's sudden mood swing.

"Oh, she'll come back once she realizes that I'm not chasing her."

"Why aren't you?" She shrugs;

"The whole point of her taking off with it was to get me to chase her, duh! Besides, it's not as if that were my last bar." Still laughing, she sits down and pulls out another one; "See?"

* * *

It's almost dawn now: most everyone's asleep, except for a few who are just barely making it. In the half-light of the room, someone stirs; Fae. I'm not sure if she's slept, or if she's just been quiet; but now she's eating chocolate. The brief crinkle of wrapper, the smell of chocolate, then more movement.

"Anyone else awake?" She sounds bored, but not very tired.

"There's only a few of us left." A loud snore fills the room; "Well, Justin's down for the count." Fae laughs softly;

"I'm not surprised, he's been drifting in and out for the past few hours." She barely finishes before she yawns, "I've got to do something, or else I'll be out of it in a few minutes."

"Like what?" Koda queries. "Are you out of chocolate?"

"No; but chocolate only works for so long... Do any of you have a guitar?"

"Electric or acoustic?"

"Either." She gets to her feet, careful to avoid disturbing anyone. As she looks around, trying to find away out without stepping on a somebody, her eyes land briefly on Rissa and Kayleb cuddled up on the couch; she looks away, her expression unreadable. I've often wish that I could read minds; being the grandson of a vamp, you'd think I could. If only.

* * *

"You don't seem very happy about Rissa and Kayleb." Koda commented as we made our way downstairs; Fae had insisted that we go somewhere else to avoid waking anyone up.

"Rissa is sensitive, and she can change in an instant; quite explosive sometimes. And Kayleb seems a bit obsessive." She shrugs, "Things don't always work out the way you think they will, and if Rissa gets hurt, you'll never hear the end of it."

"Where are we going exactly?" I ask; she doesn't even bother turning around,

"Outside." Guitar in hand, she heads out the door.

"Hey! Wait up!"

"What? It's not like I'm _trying_ to leave you behind." She's heading towards the forest now...

"You can't go in there, you might get lost."

"I have a very good sense of direction, thanks. But I'm not going in there; are you afraid a werewolf is going to attack me?" Wow, she hit it on the nose; not that anyone would attack her, it's just that since Alice called us on that night two months ago... Well, she was spooked, so we've been keeping things tight, even though we haven't seen any sign of... whatever it was she saw.

"Here we go." My mind snaps back to the present; Fae is leaning against a tree, and Koda has stationed himself between her and the edge of the forest. I lean against the tree right across from her; we're still in my backyard, but a bit closer to the woods than I would have liked, and she seems to have done this on purpose. For the briefest of moments, Rissa's warning crosses my mind: "...she'll ask _you_ questions that you don't want to answer?", then I banish the thought from my mind. If she knew something, or at least guessed, wouldn't she have said something by now? Or at least be acting differently?

"Any requests?" Fae says, disrupting my train of thought.

"What can you play?" Koda asks,

"Oh, just about anything; if you can name it, I can probably play it." She's not boastful; she says it like it's nothing worth mentioning. But I'm curious;

"How about a song you wrote?"

"What makes you think I've written any?"

"You're that kind of person." I laugh, "Play one for us?" But she's already shaking her head;

"I'm not feeling it tonight; well, morning." She strums the guitar experimentally; "Not bad."

* * *

"Whazzup Trey?" How could she know it's him? She didn't even look up to see who was approaching.

"The sky." He replies shortly, sitting down next to Fae; "What have you been up to?"

"I knew I wouldn't stay awake much longer if I didn't do something; besides, it's _way_ too cold for me to even think about falling asleep out here."

"Played many songs yet?"

"No; just a bit of strumming." He nods, then hums a few bars; apparently a song that she knows.

"You would choose that one." She says, laughing softly as she starts into the intro, then launches into the song; "Well I know there's a reason-"

"-and I know there's a rhyme-" Trey joins in; they've obviously rehearsed this.

"-we were meant to be together" Their voices blend in perfect harmony, "that's why-"

"-We can roll with the punches-" Okay, so their pattern is; Fae, Trey, together, repeat.

"-we can stroll hand in hand-"

"-and when I say it's forever, you understand-" I can't believe that I've known them for two months, and have never heard them sing; they should totally start a band.

"That you're always in my heart, you're always on my mind; and when it all becomes too much, you're never far behind. There's no one that comes close to you, could ever take your place- Cause only you can love me this way-" Their voices join for the chorus, the moonlight giving the scene an ethereal tone. The light makes Fae look ghostly pale; I try to suppress the chills going up and down my spine, but it's no use. She looks too much like a vampire; pale, beautiful, flawless... I'm part vampire, but Fae... I could never imagine her being anything but who and what she is now.

* * *

Distracted with my thoughts, I barely notice when they finish.

"Isn't that a love song?" Koda comments,

"There are many different kinds of love, and that particular song fits us perfectly; you just have to think about it in a different way-" Fae begins.

"-As brother/sister, instead of boyfriend/girlfriend; we're very close." Trey finishes;

"We had to be, otherwise we would have lost each other, and ourselves." Fae adds, hinting at her rough time as a foster child.

"I know; it's just that you usually don't hear brother/sister duets, or siblings would think to apply a song like that to their relationship."

* * *

It was almost dawn when we started back towards the house. When I reached the door, I realized that Fae hadn't followed; turning around, I saw her facing the east, guitar still in hand, watching as the sun came up. Breaking dawn. For a moment, I watched it, then looked at Fae. Her cinnamon hair turned red/gold in the blinding light, silhouetted perfectly; standing out against a backdrop of dark forest. At that moment, a cloud passed in front of the sun, blocking out the light; she went from a blazing silhouette, to colorless and drab in less than a second, like a bonfire being doused. All firey glory one moment, dead, cold ashes the next. The contrast was so dramatic; I felt those chills start up again.

And I vowed that I would never let anyone extinguish Fae; if they did, it would be over my dead body.

* * *

OOOoooooOOOOOOooooooooooooooOO! Foreshadowing!!!! Hahaha! What's going to happen next?! *evil grin*

I do not own the song I used; it's 'Only you can love me this way' by Keith Urban. It ROCKS!!! I love it :D Some people might be going "What?! That's a love song, and they're brother and sister! Twins in fact!" but, as was pointed out in this chapter, there are many kinds of love, and I think that song expresses their relationship perfectly; they rely on each other, and no one can ever really take the place of the other. They're **so**close; after all, the only constant they had when they were growing up was each other.

Anywayz, tell me what ya think!

_**REVIEW!!!!**_


	15. One Week Later

*Disclaimer: you know the drill.

Still from Jason's POV

PS: beware of cliffy! Bwuahahaha!

**Chapter Fourteen**

_If time can fly, without wings, then why can't we?_

"Fae, would you mind making that cake stuff for breakfast?" Kayleb mumbles groggily as he staggers into the room.

"No prob." Immediately, she starts pulling mixing bowls, pans, and ingredients out of various cupboards and drawers. Humming to herself, she starts measure and mixing.

"_Jason._" I hear an annoyed whisper; Koda. "_Your staring again._" Oh, yeah; I glance at Koda, then look around to see who else managed to make it down. Kayleb, Arisa, Dakoda, Lilia, Trey, Sasha... and Kayleb is already asleep; standing up. Fae is the only one that really looks awake.

"I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em in the morning! Can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up at all!" She sings out, overemphasizing the sing-song rhythm. Of a sudden, she turns around to get a good look at everybody, and scowls at their tired expressions. Clearing her throat loudly, she tries again; "I CAN'T GET 'EM UP, I CAN'T GET 'EM UP, I CAN'T GET 'EM UP IN THE MORNING! I CAN'T GET 'EM UP, I CAN'T GET 'EM UP, I CAN'T GET 'EM UP AT ALL!!!!" She's practically bellowing it this time. With a laugh, Trey joins in:

"And tho' the sun starts peeping, and dawn has started creeping, those lazy bums keep sleeping, they never hear my call!" Once they finish, the kitchen rings with laughter.

"You guys sound _much_ more awake now; what shall we sing next?"

By the time my parents came downstairs, Fae had everyone singing random songs; you should have seen the looks on their faces!

* * *

"Dough I use to buy my sprite! Ray, the guy who pours my sprite- thanks Ray! Me, the one who drinks my sprite! Far, a long way to the john! So, I need another sprite! La, I think I'll have a sprite! Tea, no thanks I'll have a sprite! And that brings us back to DOUGH!" Once everyone's done laughing, Rissa starts another song;

"Mm-at went the little green frog one day. Mm-at went the little green frog!" By now, everyone else has joined in; at least, everyone that knows this particular song. "Mm-at went the little green frog one day, and his eyes went mm-mm-at! Honk-honk went the big red truck one day; SPLIT-SPLAT went the little green frog. And his eyes don't go mm-at no more, 'cause he got licked up by a dog. Woof-woof!" More laughter ensues;

"Where did you guys ever learn all these songs?!" Renesme exclaims, breathless.

"One word for you: Corrynne." Trey says as he pulls the first pan from the oven. "She's always volunteering for youth camps, and she knows a lot from when she went to camp herself."

"Do any of you know 'Princess Pat'?" Wait; my mom knows some of these crazy songs?!

"HECK YES! It's one of my favorites!" Rissa squeals, "And all of you can sing along 'cause it's one of those songs where you just echo what someone else says!" Then they launch into it:

"The Princess Pat!" They wait for the echo, but it doesn't come.

"Hey! You're supposed to be singing along!" Rissa objects,

"How about not? It's a fun song, but it does get kinda annoying with all the repeating." Fae points out. "And besides, breakfast is ready to be consumed."

* * *

"What are you guys doing next Saturday?" Jake queries; we just finished off breakfast.

"Nothing that I know of; why?" Trey answers,

"I don't know if they told you," He began, gesturing to me and Lilia; "but their birthday is next Saturday; but since it's also our anniversary, they celebrated this weekend-"

"Your anniversary! Awww! What number are you on?" Rissa, of course;

"This will be our 25th; Nessie and one of her aunts are planning it, so it's gonna be big."

"Roses, candlelight, refreshments, a big dance floor, a live band..." 'Nessie' listed dreamily. "The whole nine yards! And I'm inviting your whole family!"

"Live band? Who'd ya get?" Fae queries, curious;

"Well, I actually haven't been able to find one; all the ones we've liked are unavailable on that night." Don't I know it; she's been bummed about that for weeks now.

"That's too bad."

* * *

This past week has gone by awful fast, now it's show time; almost. Everything's set up, but it's early for people to start showing up. As for me, I'm not too excited about seeing my vamp relatives; it's actually kind of creepy knowing that I'm related to them. Especially since I'm nothing like them.

Anyway, they're running late, so I won't see them for a while.

It looks like we have a live band, so that'll be interesting. I tried starting a band once, but Justin lost his temper during our fist practice session and wreaked havoc; our parents told us to never try that again. It was a pity cause we sounded pretty good... Seeing all the instruments and equipment set up makes me wish we had tried harder. I wonder if Fae's ever been in a band; she'd make one heck of a lead guitarist/singer... Maybe we could try starting a band again...

Well, it's six o'clock; show time!

* * *

Everyone's here; except the Cullens and the Keylocks, and the band hasn't started playing yet. Apparently their name is 'Starring Me'; sounds like a name that Fae would give a band, I wonder if she knows them?

"Testing, testing; lalalala! I think it's working fine." Wait; am I really hearing what I think I am? But I'm seeing other surprised looks too...

"Hey La Pushians! Bet you didn't expect to see me up here." By now, everyone's looking at Fae, as surprised as I am. "I'm glad you're so excited; I know I am. We haven't played for long while, so we're rarin' to go!" Bouncing off the stage, she walks towards the center of the dance floor with Trey, Dax, and Rissa right behind her. There's something different about her...

"Apparently some of the guests are running late, so I decided to give you all a brush up on dance moves and such." Good thing she has a headset; microphones are too unhandy. "First, I need your cooperation; second, I need to know which dances and moves you already know. Like the cha-cha, swing, waltz, foxtrot, etc." Everyone just looks at her; then it hits me. She cut her hair! It barely reaches half-way down her back...

"Come ON! Okay; guys, you line up over here, girls, over there." Taking charge, she starts herding everyone into lines; good thing there's not a whole lot of people. Mom didn't invite very many outside the pack, what with the Cullens coming and all... Even though they assured her that everything would be fine, she's rather paranoid.

"That's better." She interrupts my train of thought; "Now who here knows how to do the swing?"

* * *

"You all did awesome! Thanks for letting me be a little bossy, cause seeing you guys dancing so well is all worth it."

"That's because we already knew how to dance!" Justin says, rolling his eyes,

"Yeah; if you hadn't, then I wouldn't have been able to teach you anything beyond the high-school shuffle!" Laughing, they hop up onto the stage;

"Who's ready to get this party started?!" The room erupts with cheers and whoops. "Alright!" She turns to look at her siblings; "One two three four!" Instantly, the room is filled with the sound of drums and guitar.

"Hey girl, what's your name? It's so loud in here I can't hear a thing, But I sure do like your style." Surprisingly, Trey takes the lead: both him and Fae are playing guitar, Dax is on drums, and Rissa's on base (guitar).

"And I can see you came to rock, in your blue jeans and white tank top; man that look drives me wild!" For most people, it would be rather surprising to hear music like this played at an anniversary, but this is exactly how my parents planned; loud songs in the beginning, and then ever so often throughout, dispersed exactly right so that things don't get to be boring or too much of a drag; or too romantic.

* * *

"You guys are great! Thanks so much!" Renesme exclaims

"Hey, no prob; it's so much fun." Dax replies, "We haven't played in months. We were actually surprised when Fae suggested it; we put in a lot of practice hours this last week." They're sorta having a break; they've been playing about a half-hour now, pretty much non-stop. And, of course, everyone wants to talk with them.

"So, are you guys going to play one of your own songs?" I just had to ask;

"Maybe." Fae looks at me, an unreadable expression in her eyes; then after taking another quick drink, she heads back to the stage.

But of course, she doesn't play one of their own right away; first they play a few slow songs, almost all of them older; ones my parents would have heard a lot when they were younger: 'It's Your Love', 'I Run To You', 'How Do I Live', and the one Fae and Trey sang last weekend, 'Only You Can Love Me This Way'.

Once they finish the last song, Fae hesitates, looking around the room, her eyes finally landing on me; surprisingly enough, she holds my gaze for a few moments before looking away.

" You look at me, and I can see it in your eyes- Just admit it, you want me; but you don't realize- the obvious-" The tempo and volume build. There's something about her manner that makes me pay closer attention; is this one of hers?

"Everyone wants what they can't have! And this is no exception; so right here, right now- I'm gonna correct your misconceptions." Then, her voice alone cuts through the room: "Cause ya know what?

"The beggar never gets the princess! And a commoner can't woo the queen! Though you may watch from a distance, you can never have this- Unless you're dreamin!" I know that she could only be speaking to me; I know that she's not really interested in me, or anyone else for that matter, but I'd been hoping. But now? Somewhat numb, I only hear parts of the song: 'With a friend like you; really, I'd rather have enemies' and 'get lost' are the ones that I remember most. But then she reaches the bridge, and I realize that she might be saying something different than what I thought...

"A girl wants a knight in shining armor! Her own prince charming- And I'm not settling for anything less-" Once more, she glances at me; "So if you're gonna take a shot, you'd better give it all you got- You've got to prove to me that you are more than you seem-" Wait... is she saying what I think she's saying?

* * *

"What's the name of that song? The one you played after that other one." Lilia asks; vague, as usual.

"Yeah, I think I know which one you're talking about. The one one that was after the other one; right?" Fae replies, phrasing it so that her answer is more confusing and vague than the question.

"You know which one I'm talking about!" Lilia exclaims,

"Unless. Why?"

"Cause I thought it was pretty cool." Then, from the direction of the doors, we hear several exclamations and excited voices; well, that's probably what Fae and all the other regular humans heard. I heard a lot more;

"Looks like the Cullens are finally here." My words are followed by the briefest of silences, then the sound of shattering glass. Alarmed, I tear my gaze away from the door; if Justin starts anything, I'm gonna-

But it's not Justin.

"Did you say 'Cullen'?" Trey demands; Fae's standing next to him, all the color gone from her face, as colorless as anything ever was. But the most startling thing is the blood and shattered glass all over her hands.

"_**Did you say 'Cullen'!**_" Trey demands again, much more forcefully this time; his hands are gripping my shirt front, blocking my view of Fae. I don't have time to answer, the wild scream of an electric guitar cuts through the room; Fae... Swearing, Trey turns and heads for the stage at a run with Dax right behind; Arisa gives me a glare that would make a vampire think twice about attacking;

"_**Why didn't you tell us!**_" Then she's off too. What is going on?

"Cause I'll be there, in the back of your mind! From the day we met, till you were making me cry; and it's just too bad, you've already had the best days- The best days of your life!" Fae's in front of everyone else, totally ignoring the pain she must be feeling from her hands.

"Ain't it a shame? A shame that every time you hear my name- Brought up in a casual conversation you can't think.... straight. And ain't it sad? You can't forget about what we had; take a look at her, and do you like what you see? Or do ya wish it was me!" The rooms mood went abruptly from light and happy, to confused and unsure in no time flat; WHAT IS GOING ON! Whipping around, I see the Cullens staring at the stage as if something was dreadfully wrong... Fae's hands! Swearing mentally, regardless of the fact that I was giving my granddad an earful, I step in between them and Fae, even though they're a ways off yet. Then I see him; no, I _feel_ him.

Standing a few feet away from me, his rusty hair catching the light, is a vampire I've never met; WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?! Staring at Fae, surprise, shock, disbelief, and longing written all over his face... Confused, I turn to look at Fae, only to see those same emotions mirrored on her face, minus the longing, along with... Anger?

Then it hits me; this has to be the guy that-

Bristling, I turn on him, full of rage, only to find that Seth, Dakoda, Carlisle, my parents, Bella, and some of the other Cullens are in the way. Mom's eyes are pleading with me; 'don't start anything' is written all over her face. Rage firmly in check, I decide to wait till Fae is safely out of harms way; then I'll kill him.

* * *

DUN DUN DUN! whatcha think? TELL ME!

I do not own any of the songs, except 'Unless'; I just borrowed the others. If you are interested in hearing the rest of 'Unless', let me know. Also, I'm going to need more songs for the next chapter, so give me a few suggestions (: I had a hard time picking out songs for this one :3

As you might of guessed, Kyran is a vamp; the newest member of the Cullen family. Bwuahaha! bet you never woulda guessed he was a vamp :P

What happens next? Idk, are you going to give me any input via reviews?

That reminds me,

_**REVIEW!!!**_


	16. Fire And Ice

*Disclaimer: it's simple; I only own the _good, life-like, original_ characters :P

Wow, this is kinda shorter than I expected. *shrugs* oh well.

This is from Dakoda's POV, except for the few italicized paragraphs at the end.

So yeah; enjoy

*grins evilly*

This is just the beginning :F

**Chapter Fifteen**

_This is not good; not good at all..._

As soon as I saw her reaction to the name 'Cullen' it all clicked in my head; there was no way that the guy she had broken up with could be anyone but the new member of the Cullens' coven. I'd heard about him sometime last year, he was a newblood, hated himself, and had heard about the Cullens from a vamp he had met, so he sought them out. That's the abridged version, the whole story is very interesting, but long. So I'd been watching him and Jase; they were bound to clash, they both wanted the same thing. Fae. Only I don't think she will have either of them now, with _him_ around she'll only get more distant. This _would_ happen just when she'd decided to give Jase half a chance...

I knew that I'd be asked to follow Jason around; it was obvious to everyone that he would want to tear that vamp to pieces. And I was the best one for the job; I could beat Jase in a pinch, or at least keep him from tearing anyone up, and as an alpha, I could give him an order he'd _have_ to obey, even though I'd hate to do it.

Yeah, I'm an alpha, I know it's odd; what's even more interesting, is how little we really know or understand about our wolf nature. We still hadn't been able to figure out why us younger wolves didn't become a part of the older pack; I was the first of the next generation to phase, and while Jake had been able to 'talk' with me, I couldn't hear anyone else, like we were two different alphas, which turned out to be true.... And when Jason phased, I wanted to give him pack leadership, but for some reason, he couldn't take it; we'd even experimented with me giving him orders, to see if he could do what Jake had done. Needless to say, it hadn't worked in the slightest. It was the general opinion that, since he was part vamp, it was impossible for him to be an alpha since the pack is supposed to a defense against that sort of thing. He'd been really frustrated, and me following him would only bring all that back to the surface...

* * *

"He is sensible and so incredible, and all my single friends are jealous..." Fae certainly isn't helping matters; this is her second song, and the only thing good about her playing, is that it seems to be holding the vamp in some sort... trance? Or something like that, he hasn't taken his eyes off of her.

I have to admit, I'm pretty riled about the whole 'Fae and him' episode that left her in shreds, and so are a lot of the others; Fae's pretty popular, I guess it's cause she's so... full of life, and manages to get along with everyone. If anything gets out of hand...

"But I miss screamin and fightin, and kissin in the rain! It's two a.m. And I'm cursin your name! So in love that you acted insane; and that's the way I loved you! Breakin down and comin undone, it's a roller-coaster kinda rush..."

One side of Fae that none of us had seen before tonight; when she plays or sings, or both, she pours her whole self into it. I've seen her express more emotion tonight than I've seen in the whole two months since they moved in, even before heart-breaker showed up.

"How long has _she_ been around here?" Bella queries in hushed tones,

"Moved in two months ago." I reply shortly, "Ren probably already mentioned her to you then."

"Ren?"

"Renesme; though she probably referred to her as the 'new girl that Jason likes'." She looked thoughtful for a moment,

"Yeah, I guess she _did_ mention a new family, one where all the kids were adopted..."

* * *

"Never was and never will be, you don't know how you betrayed me. And somehow you've got everybody fooled... Without the mask, where will you hide?.. Can't find yourself; lost in your lies! I know the truth now! I know who you are! And I don't love you anymore-" Ouch; she's mad... Does she really know who he is? Did she figure it out like Bella did all those years ago? The very thought chills me; Bella found out the vampires all right, but she also found out the wolves...

"Never was and never will be; you're not real and you can't save me! And somehow now you're everybody's fool..." As the song finishes, vamp/heart-breaker snapped out of whatever he was in and started towards Fae, flanked, of course, by several members of the pack; we had been instructed not to interfere so long as everyone kept cool.

"Princess-" He began,

_**"DON'T YOU 'PRINCESS' ME!"**_ Fae bellows back; throwing her guitar at him, she turns and runs out of the room, probably out of the building.

"No! Wait!" He starts to follow, but Trey cuts him off;

"'No, wait' nothin! You have five hours to leave town." He steps close and gives that vamp a look that should turn him to stone, "_If you ever even try to get near her, or contact her in any way, I'll find you. And then you'll wish you had never been spawned._"

* * *

Everything is about back to normal, except for the left-over tension, of course.

"Have you seen that-" Jase begins,

"No, I haven't; have you asked the Cullens?"

"Yeah; Bella thought he was with the others, but they haven't seen him either. And if you haven't seen him..." I'm already headed for the door;

"If he went anywhere, we'll be able to pick up his trail outside."

* * *

Outside Fae's front door, I gave Jase a few minutes to cool down; soooo didn't happen. If anything, he's more worked up.

"Why can't you just _get out of my life!!!_" Silently, we step into the hall and pause just outside the living room; Fae and the vamp are squared off, about ten feet apart.

"Look, I can explain-"

"SHUT UP!!!" She takes a step back and angrily brushes back tears. Okay, this guy- To riled to say anything, I step into the room.

"HEY! DO WHAT SHE SAYS!" Jason bellows, his words cracking through the room like a whip; startled, they both jump.

"Jase- Koda-" She sobs; she looks like she's beginning to fall apart. Jason walks across the room and grabs him by the shoulders, lifting him off his feet and pinning him against the wall.

"_JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, __**LEECH!!!**_"

"_JASON_!" I caution, striding across the room; looks like I'll have to pull them apart.

"Don't-" Fae reprimands, regaining some of her composure. I quickly pull them apart; pushing Jason away, I keep one hand on the leech.

"Let go." His voice as cold as he is; he looks me in the eye even though he's a good few inches shorter. Not wanting to start a fight, in the Keylocks' house of all places, I let him go.

"Leave." I growl under my breath,

"No." He replies evenly, "Not until I have a chance to explain.

"No. _Just go_." Fae demands, sounding more like herself.

"Look, I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know how you would take it; I didn't want to get you hurt."

"But I _DID!_" She shrieks back, causing him to flinch.

"Leave now, leech; before I tear you limb from limb." Jase snarls, edging closer.

"Jason! Enough!" I turn back to leech boy; "Trey gave you fair warning, now we're going to back him up on it: LEAVE!"

"Not until I've had a chance to explain! How many times do I have to tell you, _dog!_" I no longer wanted to avoid a fight, but it would be better if we could get him outside...

Then she steps between us, hands placed squarely on both chests, mine, and his; she could tell a fight was coming on. But as soon as she got between us, an expression of shock went over her face and she collapsed.

* * *

_A shock went from palm to palm and throughout my body; then it started creeping up my arms. White-hot on my left, deathly cold on my right; what will happen when they meet in the middle? I can't move, I don't even know if I'm breathing, or if my heart still beats, but now it's almost to my shoulders, slowly creeping towards my center. When they meet in my chest, they explode outward, fire fighting ice, grappling each other inside of me; like they're fighting over who gets me... _

_As they fight, they gradually merge until there's nothing left of either; they've combined into an intermediate temperature. As the warmth floods through me, eliminating every trace of the fire and ice, I feel it._

_In the deepest, darkest recess of my soul something stirs; uncoiling and rising up, I feel it spreading, following the warmth-_

_I've always wondered what it would feel like to die..._

_

* * *

_

_And so, I ceased to exist._

_

* * *

_HAHAHA! CLIFFY! sry if it was confusing.

I don't own any of the songs I used for this chapter; the first one's 'The Way I Loved You' by Taylor Swift, the other's 'Everybody's Fool' by Evanescence (: I thought they both worked pretty well [:

From here on out, the action and suspense starts to build; pretty much everything before was 'setting the stage', and I'm _finally_ to the rising action! Yay me! *cricket* Fine! Be that way! :P

_**REVIEW!!!!! I REALLY want to know what you guys think!**_

_**REVIEW!  
**_


	17. More Questions

*Disclaimer: ya know, I got sick of these things ages ago q:

Oh goodie! Another chapter! Yay! The first part is from Trey's POV, then it switches to 3rd person, then to Fae's POV.

fivestar, thanks for mentioning the songs, I wasn't sure exactly how well they fit, or if people would think I should've chose different ones :D Vera A, I like it best from Fae's POV too, but that would give stuff away... .

Read on!

**Chapter Sixteen**

_In which many people are confused._

As soon as I possibly could, I left; I needed to get home to Fae, she needed me more than anything else right now. I wish we'd never agreed to play at the anniversary...

But as soon as I got home, I knew something was wrong; I was through the front door in a heartbeat.

"Fae!" She was crumpled in a heap between a very puzzled looking Dakoda and a shocked Kyran; my voice seemed to bring them back to reality though. "What happened?!" I exclaim angrily as I strode toward her.

"We have no idea; she just... collapsed." Koda answers,

"She stepped between us, then collapsed." Kyran elaborates, stepping away from her as I approach.

"You aren't even supposed to _**be**_ here!" I snarl; just then, Koda reaches out to feel her forehead or something. Her eyes snap open;

"_Get away from me!_" Her voice is rough, her eyes wide with fear. "_Don't touch me!_" She shrieks, scooting backwards across the floor.

"Fae-"

"_NO! You're too hot, like fire-_" Her voice chokes for a moment, then she starts raving; "_Fire... fire and ice! Why?! How?!!! You can't possibly be that way without being dead! What **are** you?!!!! What do you want?!!!! Get away, get away!_" She wails hysterically, her eyes frantic, caught in the grip of her fear. Does she even know what she's saying?

"Fae, calm down; I'm here." I say calmly, kneeling beside her and gathering her into my arms; if she gets any more hysteric, she'll hurt herself. As her skin touches mine, I jump in surprise: she's flaming hot! This isn't good... "Someone go get Carlisle. _NOW_."

* * *

"I've never seen anything like this before." Carlisle looked quite concerned when he showed up a couple hours earlier; now he looks baffled and rather worried. "I'm sorry to say this, but there's nothing I can do; she'll have to fight it off herself." He hesitates, "Where are your parents?"

"They're at a family reunion out of state; Rissa and Dax left to go join them. I've already filled them in on what happened." I reply coolly; whatever's wrong with Fae, it has something to do with Kyran... An emotional collapse? But that wouldn't result in a raging fever... Frustrated, there's nothing for me to do but wait.

* * *

"How is she?" Jake queries as he comes into the room; so many people have been coming to check on her that I no longer pay attention to the opening and shutting of the front door, or footsteps on the stair. Ren isn't with him.

"Delirious with a fever that should have killed her already." I growl in response; "Have _you_ ever seen anything like this?" He hesitates before answering,

"Yes, but-"

"Then what _is_ it that's trying to kill her?" He looks at me sadly,

"Carlisle says that there isn't a mark on her, so she can't have been bitten; it must be something different..." He ponders for a minute before continuing. "If this is anything like what I've seen before, she'll live, but she'll never be the same again; and it'll probably be awhile before she's safe to be around-"

"_**WHAT?!!!**_ Quit talking in circles! That's all everyone's done so far! That, and look at her as if she were already dead!"

"That's because, in a way, she could be."

* * *

They waited until he was gone, then the discussion began; "Carlisle, you're sure that she-"

"Absolutely not; Edward and Jasper have checked and double checked, so it can't be that. Not to mention that there's not a mark on her, and two of the pack witnessed her collapse."

"Do you have any idea as to what's wrong?"

"No; the only thing that would make sense has been ruled out." There was silence in the room, except for Fae, who was tossing and turning, moaning and crying out in her delirium. A sense of hopelessness descended on the room as they watched her fight for her life, powerless to help. "Nessie, see if you can calm her down." Nodding, she took Fae's hand gently, instantly calming her with her gift.

"Why do you think Jasper doesn't have any affect on her?"

"I don't know." Silence once again reigned. None of the vampires' powers had any sort of affect on her, though they had before; only her brother and Renesme could calm her now.

"So there's nothing we can do?"

"We can only hope; and pray that God will spare her."

* * *

The fever, or whatever it was, broke after the third day. At least, that's what everyone told me; I don't remember much of anything.

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is Jason, leaning against the bed, asleep, my hand cradled in his. Wait... bed? What am I doing in bed? Looking around, I see J.B., Ren, and Seth gathered around my bed, sound asleep. What?! I find my gaze has wandered back to Jase. He looks so... Wistful? Worried? Concerned? Whatever it is, he's sleeping soundly despite of it. My eyes trace the lines of exhaustion in his face, and find myself wishing I had met him either before Kyran, or awhile after; he's a pretty great guy, I just don't trust my emotions anymore. I can't; I'll just wind up hurting again. His hand warm on mine, I study him more closely: dark tan skin, unusually long eyelashes, high cheekbones, dark curly hair... I sigh. If only I could trust myself. Then I hear someone gasp: "_Fae!_" Startled, I look up to see Alice, her hands over her mouth; she looks like she's about to cry. "Is something wrong? Why-" But then she's smothering me in a hug and I don't have any breath with which to finish my question.

"Hey! Wake up sleepy heads! The fever's broken! Fae's awake!"

* * *

I must've been pretty bad off; as much of a fuss as they're making, you'd think I had just been snatched from the jaws of death.

"Are you hungry? You haven't eaten in three days." Ren queries, ready to jump up and make me breakfast in bed.

"Uh, it's three in the morning." I point out, "Hardly breakfast time."

"But you need to eat _something_." The thing is, I'm not. Hungry, that is; I feel fine. But- "Where's Trey?!" I demand; if he had been catching a few hours of shut-eye in his room, then he would have woken up and come to see me when Alice started squealing. As soon as I ask, the mood changes instantly. "Fae-" J.B begins, but, fearing the worst, I catapult out of bed and sprint like mad for Ken's room before anyone can stop me. Throwing wide the door, I gasp: Ken's restlessly tossing in bed, as pale as death.

"_No._" I breathe, flinging myself across the room to his side. "_Ken?! Oh Ken! I'm here now._" I whisper, choking back tears as I take his clammy hands in mine. "_You can't leave me; you promised..._" How could everything go wrong so quickly? I look up at Carlisle; "How long has he been like this?" Before he can answer, I spot Kyran behind him. _WHAT IS HE DOING-_ Then everything comes flooding back: the anniversary and what happened afterward, only the last thing I remember is Jason and Koda showing up when I was on the verge of a serious emotional breakdown.

"_You-_" And then I'm across the room, ready to throttle him. Intent on Kyran, I forget that there are people in the room that will try to stop me.

"Fae!" Someone shouts, and then I feel hands lock around my wrists, twisting me around. Teeth bared and snarling (a usually intimidating and _very_ unfeminine behavior), I turn to see a pair of onyx eyes boring into mine. "_Jasper! Let. Me. Go!_" I hiss, fighting against his iron grip. Wrenching on hand free, I set to on freeing the other one, only to have my free hand grabbed by someone else; this time my arms are crossed in front of my chest, giving me no room to struggle.

"Fae, Kyran had nothing to do with it." It's Jason; Jason is the one that's helping Jasper. Traitor!

"_What do you mean! Everything was FINE before he showed his stupid face!_" I snap, "LET ME GO!" With a wrench, I break free again and turn back to Kyran.

"Kit-" Turning, I rush back to the bed; "Ken! Can you hear me?" I ask softly, going from snarly to quiet in a moment. But he's still delirious. "Oh Ken..." With him in this state, Kyran's presence no longer matters. Still heady from my short adrenaline rush, everything seems louder, my vision sharper. Then my brain finally registers what I'm wearing: oh SNAP! A lacy, far too low (for my liking) tank-top and a pair of teeny little frilly shorts. Rissa had bought them for me several years ago in an attempt to get me to wear something 'cute and fashionable' for pajamas. I've never worn them, but apparently Alice thought that I should look, once again, 'cute and fashionable' in bed with a raging fever. Which is why I've never taken much of a liking to her... She acts so shallow, even though I know she's not, and like my sister, she thinks I should wear stuff that plays up my body. I used to, years ago, but I found that most guys liked me for my looks instead of my personality; and I'm _**so**_ not that kind of girl.

Anyway, all this is running through my mind as I stare down at my horrendous outfit, then I get to my feet and walk back into my room to grab the silk bathrobe that Alice had given me for my last birthday; it's probably the only thing she's given me that I actually kept and use. It's really long and very comfortable; and in no way see through, which makes it perfect since I don't want to take the time to change into something practical while my brother is tossing and turning with a raging fever. Is that what _I_ was like? No wonder they were worried.

As I re-enter the room, having only been gone a few seconds, I get a few baffled looks; there's also more people in the room.

"Hey Fae." Koda says casually; nodding in response, I zero in on Carlisle. "How long has he been like this?" I ask again, feeling a slight twinge when I think about what I was wearing the first time I asked, subconsciously tightening my robe.

"He came down with it about twenty-four hours after you did. At first, he refused to leave your side, but all too soon he was in no shape to argue." He replies,

"And you still have no idea what it is." I mutter, sitting down and leaning against Ken's bed.

"Hey, I have an irrelevant question." Jason asks,

"Do tell." I say, raising my eyebrows, a questioning look in my eye.

"Why did you call him 'Ken'?" I laugh; "His first name is Kenric, so Ken is my pet name for him; weird idn't it?" I answer, cocking an eyebrow and giving him a lopsided grin.

"And his pet name for you is Kit, right?" Koda puts in. Surprised, I just stare blankly at him. "Well, that's what he called you when you twisted your ankle."

"You mean when you _landed_ on my ankle." I say innocently; I still haven't forgotten all the questions that I can't find answers to. And believe me, I'll find the answers eventually.

* * *

"Fae, wake up." With a start, I sit up and look around to find the room practically empty, except for Ren, who had woken me up. It's night. "Everyone's downstairs eating, and I really hated to disturb you, but you haven't eaten anything yet; you must be starving." She's right, I am; but I already knew where everyone was; they've been discussing Ken's chances of surviving and didn't want me to hear. Wait... how do I know that? Blaming it on my wild imagination, I sit on the edge of Ken's bed and gladly take the tray from her, which has sweetcorn, mashed potatoes, salad, and a BLT on it. Mmmm, bacon! Mumbling my thanks, I dig in, going for the BLT first. Then I stop; "Tell them not to call my parents; if I got over it, then Ken will too. It's not worth worrying my parents about." Ren just looks at me blankly,

"What do you mean?" That's a good question; I thought I just heard Esme mention calling my parents...

"Never mind." I say, brushing it off; this is so confusing. I wonder if it's an after-effect? Or am I just tired? In a few minutes, I've eaten everything, but I still have a nagging hunger, which is weird; I don't eat _that_ much, especially at night. I shrug mentally; it's probably because I haven't had anything to eat for so long.

"Kit?" Ken asks, his voice rough and dry;

"I'm here." _Thank you God; he means so much to me._

"When did you wake up?" He asks, sitting up and looking around; "Hey Ren."

"I woke up this morning." I reply; I open my mouth to say more, but Ren cuts me off.

"She woke up yesterday at about three in the morning; it's about that now." Sure enough, that's what the clock says. I laugh: "I must've slept longer than I thought."

* * *

Yeah, I know it's not a cliffy; quite the opposite, actually. lol (:

Soooo, what do ya think? Any guesses as to what's happening?

as always:

_**REVIEW!!!**_


	18. Pieces To The Puzzle

*Disclaimer: ditto to what I've said every other time before *rolls eyes*

'NOTHER CHAPPIE!!!! *dances around*

Fae's POV, with some 3rd person bits thrown in

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Oh the tangled webs we weave..._

I wake to the murmuring of voices and open my eyes expecting to see people nearby; seriously, it sounds like they're right next to my bed. But no one's there. It's been a few days since... whatever it was, and things have calmed back down, for the most part anyway. I roll out of bed, already wide awake; but I feel wiped-out, even though I went to bed _plenty_ early, and have been. I guess that fever thing took more out of me than I thought.

"Fae, have you heard any strange noises at night?" J.B. asks casually when I come into the kitchen.

"No, not at all. Why?" He's not the only one here; Sam, Koda, Edward, and Jasper are too. Okay, what's going on?

"Oh, there's some animal's tracks around your house, nothing big." Oh really?

"Do you know what kind of animal made them?" I query, keeping my questions casual as I go about fixing breakfast. "Do you guys want anything to eat?"

"No thanks, we're good." Is the only reply I get; something's _definitely_ going on. When they leave, I'll have a look at those tracks myself. Larger-than-life wolf tracks maybe? Or something different? I fix my french-toast in silence, waiting for them to leave.

"Tell us if you notice anything unusual." And then they're gone.

* * *

I wait about half an hour to make absolutely sure, then I go out the back door and start casting about for tracks. Nothing... nothing... noth- W. H. O. A. They're even bigger than the wolf tracks! And whatever it is, it's not a wolf... My world has taken a turn for the totally, un-normal, disturbing, irrational, psychotic, backwards, unreal, strange, weird...

The tracks trail off into nothing beneath my window, as if the creature had simply ceased to exist.

* * *

I spent the afternoon in my studio, playing around with my guitar trying to fit chords to a new song that I wrote several months before we moved; I hadn't had much of a chance to work on it before. Alright, I had plenty of time over the summer, but music was one of the things I had refused to touch after I'd broken up with Kyran; it brought back too many memories. That, and I don't just _play_ music, I _feel_ it, I _am_ it when I play. And feeling wasn't what I had wanted before; before, I just wanted to pretend it had never existed, as if it had never happened. And the best way to do that, to block it all out, was to remove any sort of feeling or emotion from my life.

Humming the melody as I try various chords, I come up with a chord progression that fits just the way I want it to. Absorbed in my music, everything that is has been going on recently is slowly working itself out in the back of my mind. Or not. I still can't figure anything out. The noise of the front door opening and shutting registers on a semi-conscious level; Ken must be home. And boy do we have a lot to discuss.

* * *

A week flies by, with new tracks appearing every morning, the old ones having vanished. Me and Ken have followed them pretty far into the woods, but we've never found where they begin; we've seen them disappear before our eyes, like they only stay visible for a certain amount of time. We've almost gotten lost a time or two because they disappear before we can follow them back: good thing we both have an extremely good sense of direction.

"Why do you think it keeps coming to our house? And why hasn't Echo put up a fuss?" I ask; we've been through this a million times before, but we keep on coming back to it.

"I have no idea, and you know it Kit." Ken sighs, rolling his eyes heaven-ward, he changes the subject; "Let's see... We've tried staying up, but it hasn't showed, the camera thing didn't work either: no pictures, the sensor didn't even detect movement-"

"-but we know it showed up because there were plenty of fresh tracks in the morning." Ken nods, "So it's ginormous and leaves tracks-"

"-which disappear-"

"-but it's so stealthy that it can't be detected by anything we've tried..."

* * *

I was upstairs in the studio (again) when I heard the front door open and close so fast that I was sure I was hearing things. Ken was out trying to get J.B. to talk straight; you can tell he knows more than he's telling 'cause he talks in circles. A chill runs down my spine; someone, no, some_thing_ is in the house. Without making even a ghost of a sound, I put my guitar up and start working my way into the hall and down the stairs and into the family room; there's more places to hide in there.

What are _THEY_ doing here?

* * *

At the Blacks' house, Trey had been trying unsuccessfully to get any sort of straight answer out of Jake when Alice burst through the door.

"Itriedtostopthembuttheywouldn'tlistenandthenIspenttoomuchtimeworryingaboutwhatIshoulddoandnowIfeelbadandCarlisleandEdwardhavegonetoAlaskatoseeifTanyahasanyideaofwhatcouldbegoingonandEsme'souttoobutIsentJaspertotryandheadthemoff-"

"Wait; Alice, you need to slow down so we can understand what on earth you're saying." She took a few quick breaths and tried again;

"They hung out with some of the pack to throw me off, and by the time I knew, they were already in your house; Bella is there with Kyran. Apparently Bella-" But Trey was already out the door, in the car and driving.

* * *

"And what" I say coldly, "do you think you're doing here; trespassing _is_ illegal ya know." They jump in surprise, then whirl around; "What? Thought you'd been sneaky enough?" I ask dryly: "You weren't."

"Fae, I just wanted to talk to you about-" Bella began. Oh no, _NOT_ this again!

"I don't want to talk to you about anything; your arguments are pathetic, your motive's retarded, as are you." I state coldly; I can feel that cold, violent, stone hard fury clawing its way up, seeking a way out. A rage that allows nothing to stand, but cuts anything, everything, and everyone down till there's nothing left. I can feel it pushing its way into my mind, trying to crowd out rational thought. And for the first time in my life, I gladly give in and let it take over.

"Fae, you and Kyran can work things out; he _loves_ you, and you love him. A little bit of a disagreement should never stand in the way of being with the one you love." Like a cold hearted predator, I let her continue, waiting for just the right moment to pounce; I _want_ to cause the most pain. That's what real anger, real hate, is; you want to tear things and people down so far that they can _never_ get back up. And you want to cause the most pain when doing it; you _glory_ in it.

"I can't believe you just walked away from _true love!_ You two are meant for each other!" Ignoring Bella's 'rant of the retarded', I look at Kyran, who is fidgety and keeps throwing Bella exasperated looks.

"Did you put her up to this? Or did she drag you along?" I ask, my voice, tone, expression, manner, and eyes empty of emotion. _She' been going on about coming to talk to you for days; I didn't think she would act like this._ I nod, too distracted to figure out how I knew without him saying a word. I turn on Bella.

"Just _WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!_ You can't tell me what I should, or should not do; you don't know anything about me, what I feel, or how I think. _How can you judge?_ You're just a busy-body who thinks she knows what she's talking about, but in reality has _NO CLUE_." I can feel the fury mounting, rising up and pouring itself through my soul. **"**_**YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT 'LOVE' REALLY IS!**_**"** At this, her eyes flash in a puny way, like a toad puffing itself up when confronted with a striking snake; a reaction so pathetic that there are not words to describe the total idiocity. Like a toad could ever compete with a snake.

"Yes I _**DO!**_ Edward-"

**"**_**DON'T YOU '**__**EDWARD**__**' ME, YOU LOUSY EXCUSE FOR A -**_**"** I choke back the words that want to come pouring from my lips: no matter how stupid she is, or how mad she makes me, I _will not_ bring myself down to her level! **"**_**You DO NOT know what REAL love is like!!! Love doesn't lie, it doesn't tie you down! It doesn't give you half-truths or try to turn you into something you're not! Love never changes; it's unconditional. It doesn't matter if you're apart, there is no doubt, no uncertainty, and you always feel wanted.**_**"** I pause for breath before continuing; softer this time, "_Love will never leave you, even if the one you love does; love cannot die! Love is living your life and loving yourself, even if all else ceases to exist._" I can feel it building, almost over-riding my reason. "_Love is more than life, and death holds no power over it. Words cannot express what love is; if you had __ever__ felt it, you wouldn't try to 'explain' it or 'get me to understand'._" I can feel it buzzing through my veins, lighting me on fire as it goes. "You are nothing, you have nothing, you are worth nothing."

* * *

Jake caught up with Trey easily, realizing that they wouldn't be able to keep things from Trey, Fae, and the rest of the Keylocks for much longer.

They came through the door just in time to see the back door slam after Fae.

"What have you done?"

* * *

_I ran. I don't know how far, but I needed to get as far away as I could; I was afraid that if I didn't I would go back and tear Bella's head off. I poured my heart and soul into running; nothing existed anymore but the pounding of my feet against the earth._

_Why did she have to come? Why does she think she knows more than me? I realize now __that what I had for Kyran wasn't love; infatuation is a very good impostor. Maybe things might have turned out, but now that I'm out of the relationship, why go back? I don't think I'll ever trust myself again; if I do, it'll be a long time from now._

_As everything was running through my mind, I began noticing my surroundings, or rather, I noticed what was wrong with it. Everything was a blur. I had felt a slight shift in stride earlier, but I hadn't really though about it; now I did. As the realization hit me, everything made sense: the La Pushians' odd behavior, the Cullens' random disappearances... Then the last piece fell into place._

_**NO...**_

_**

* * *

BWUAHAHAHAHA!**_ Cliffie!!!

Onto the next one!

_**REVIEW!!!**_


	19. First Encounter

*Disclaimer: All the cool stuff and OCs are mine; everything else is SM's

BWUAHAHAHA!!! More puzzles and confusion!

Koda's POV

**Chapter Eighteen**

_What's going on?_

"Any sign of her?" Bella queries hopefully; I give her a look that answers her as plainly as any words would. We've been looking for almost an hour now, and still haven't found even so much as a trail.

After Fae took off and we got things sorted out, Trey left to see if he could find her. Ten minutes later, he was back, saying that he hadn't even found a single track; seeing as it had been raining earlier, there should have been plenty. So, we organized a search party, putting Trey in a group with Alice, Jasper, and Kyran and sent Chase along in wolf mode to keep tabs on them, as well as for communication; this way we could keep Trey in the dark for a little longer, as well as be out in superior numbers at max tracking capability. But we still haven't been able to find a trail, in wolf form or not. Trey had refused to let Bella help search, so she had stayed here and set up our "base of operations" in the Keylocks' kitchen.

Once we've finished reporting, which took all of two seconds, we head back out. _Justin, you and Jase head north, then split and loop back around. Chris, you take Mina and go east; Kayleb, you check around town. If you run into Jake or any of the others, try and find out where all they've searched. Let's cover as much ground as we can._

_Where are you heading Koda?_ Mina asks; _I'll head west and cover the shoreline._ I reply shortly, _Let's go!_

_

* * *

_

Almost another hour gone, and still no sign. Having reached the end of the route I was searching, I swing around and head back along the same stretch; it's entirely possible that I missed something, or that she might have come through while I was gone. That, and I chose this area because... because. I don't know, I just felt like I should.

I go by the cliffs and pause to scan the area, it's a great vantage point; finding my gaze upon the waves, I watch for a moment, then scan the beach again and turn to- Wait! What's that? It just washed up on shore... Not bothering to take the long way, I jump off the cliff straight into the surf and swim to shore; it's much faster this way. Carefully, I approach the dark object; it looks like it's-

_Guys, I found her; and believe you me, things do not look good._

_

* * *

_

I immediately phase back, pull on my shorts, and go to her; I can't tell if she's breathing. What happened? She's not the kind to go cliff diving alone, like Bella did that one time... Did something find her? Kneeling beside her, I find a faint pulse, but no breathing. Only one thing to do, and though her, her brother, her want-to-be boyfriend and her ex might not like it, mouth to mouth resuscitation is the only thing I know to do in situations like this. Even though I work as a life-guard over the summer and have had all the training, I've only had to use it once before, and that kid hadn't been anywhere near as bad off as Fae is now. Quickly establishing a rhythm, it's a few minutes before I get any sort of response; it seems like forever. As she starts coughing up water, I turn her so that's she's on her side and thump her gently on the back. How did all that water fit in her lungs? She's coughing up oceans of it.

"Ken..." She mutters so softly that I have to lean in in order to hear; there's more, but her voice seems to have failed her and no sound comes out. Now that she's conscious, well, more like semi-conscious, she's shaking uncontrollably and her pupils are dilated; shock. If we don't get her warm soon, at the least she'll get hypothermia and pneumonia. Worst case scenario: death. All of this is, and more, is running through my mind as I carefully scoop her up and tuck her against my chest to give her as much of my body heat as I can.

We need Carlisle ASAP.

* * *

"Carlisle's on his way." Just four simple words, yet they make everything look brighter. The questions that's running through everyone's head now is: will he make it in time? Or will it be too late?

Most everyone is out searching, for what, we don't know; but something had to have messed with Fae. There's no way she would _ever_ do anything like this. Right now, I'm sitting in the living room trying to keep her warm; there's several thick blankets wrapped around us, but she's still shivering like mad, her skin is clammy and pale, and her lips are blue. Me? I'm burning up, but the extra body heat isn't doing much...

"_Monster_..." Fae mutters under her breath; she's been mumbling and tossing a lot, most of it has been either nonsense or stuff like 'monster', 'Ken', and 'I'm sorry'. The last one doesn't make any sense... Mumbling incoherently, her eyelids flicker, she quits tossing, and tucks herself right up against my chest. It's easy to see why Jason likes her so much; she has the looks alright, but she's so much more than that. She honestly likes people and always does her best; she cares about others and loves to make them laugh, especially when they're feeling down; she's one of those people that is next to impossible to hate, or even dislike. She has a sort of 'realness' that makes her so much more than just alive, more than just existing. She's... indescribable. Looking down at her, I wonder how Jason, not to mention Kyran, can be so... careless; with a person like Fae, you have to play for keeps. You have to be careful and go slow; she's the kind of girl who knows what she wants and won't settle for anything less.

She stirs, a small frown forming on her lips; "Why are you-" She begins, opening her eyes and looking up at me; then her eyes widen and she pushes away from me, dumping herself on the floor. She frantically scoots backward across the floor, a look of panic on her face; "No no no no no no no _**NO!**_"

"No what?" I ask, baffled.

"Fae! You're awake!" Bella exclaims at the same time as she enters from the kitchen. Snarling, Fae jumps to her feet and backs up still more, half crouched and ready to spring.

"_FAE!_" Trey's voice cuts across the room. She whirls and looks at him, eyes wide, all sign of aggression gone; in a trice she's out of the room, up the stairs, slamming all the doors behind her as she goes. Baffled, Trey looks from me to Bella and back again; "What on earth..." Shaking his head, he heads for the stairs.

* * *

"Can someone tell me what is going on?" Jake queries, shaking water from his hair; "By the way, we checked all along the shoreline; not a trace of anything or anyone." I nod,

"That only makes everything more confusing, but at least we haven't found any new tracks."

"What if they don't make tracks?" Mina interjects; "What if they don't leave any sort of trail? Then they could be all over the place and we wouldn't know." The room is dead quiet. "What if we can't hurt them?"

* * *

"What do we have so far?"

"Umm... no tracks, no scent or trail of any sort-"

"-which implies a whole slew of different powers and abilities."

"Mina and Alice agree that there are more than one."

"And no one has actually _seen_ what them, so we can only speculate about what they look-"

"I know it was huge, bigger than even Jake; and it was no wolf."

"Do you remember anything in particular that stuck out to you, Alice?"

"Those are the only things I remember; shortly after, it all sort of faded. No matter how hard I try, I can only remember dim shadows. And the terror"

"Sooo... that's another power? Because vampires have a perfect memory, right?"

"Correct."

"So they, or at least one, has some sort of power over the mind-"

"How do we know that one of them sent Alice that dream?"

"Who else could have sent it?"

"I don't know, but why would they give any sort of warning if they meant to annihilate us?"

"Good question Kyran."

"Maybe they just want us to sweat a bit first; make us suffer."

"That's a lovely thought."

* * *

Trey, after finally coaxing Fae into letting him into her barricaded room, came back down after a few hours.

"How-"

"She's fine, just... psychologically traumatized." He replies shortly; he seems far away, as if he was just told something shocking... Thinking of which...

"Does she need anything? She was in quite a state when I found her and brought her home."

"No, she's fine; she refuses to see anyone besides me though." What on earth is going on?

* * *

The next few days are pretty wild; we've found trails criss-crossing the reservation and Forks; some of the ones we followed for several hours at top speed, only to have to turn back before reaching the end of it. We can always tell when a trail is fresh though, because the tracks fade quickly after about fifteen minutes, sometimes less; whatever they are, they're faster than any of us. And there's definitely more than one.

_We have no hope of catching up to any of them, so why do you insist that we follow each new trail?_ Kayleb tends to be whiny when he's tired; and he does have a point.

_You guys can head back if you want, I'll stay out a little longer; maybe if we change-up our patterns we might catch them by surprise._

_Yeah, seeing as that's the __**only**__ way we'll be able to 'catch' them. And what are you going to do if you __**do**__ run into one?_ Justin adds,

_Hope it doesn't kill me._ The others split up and head back home; good. I think part of the problem is that we're always out in groups, but if I had so much as hinted at my real intentions for staying out... Yeah, not good. Interestingly enough, I figured out how to keep my memories, thoughts, and emotions from 'broadcasting' throughout the pack network. I seldom do it though, and I haven't told anyone; I don't know how I would explain it without making it sound like I was withholding information...

As I run through the trees, heading in no particular direction, I stay alert to every sound, movement, shadow, and scent. Surprisingly enough, there's actually been quite a lot of sunshine today, though it barely makes it through the trees. I can feel it dappling my coat and warming my skin; unusual for so late in August. Of course, everything has been unusual of late; not that anything has ever been normal for us. Personally, everything has been far beyond 'unusual' since the fall of my thirteenth year; I mean, it's not very common to suddenly turn into a larger than life wolf. It caused quite a ruckus; phasing at such a young age is rather unusual, and that wasn't the only thing about me that piqued curiosity. My color, for one, is rare; agouti is not in any way common. Also, my inherent ease of phasing and adaptation were, and are, the sort of things one would expect from a Black, not a Clearwater.

* * *

_She ran across the damp forest floor, thoroughly enjoying the patches of sunshine; she even paused to pounce and play among the wet leaves and moss. She knew that none of the wolves were nearby; her internal 'map' told her that they had all headed back to town. Leaping up from the loose moss she had been rolling in, she took off at full speed just for the thrill of it._

_

* * *

_

Something is heading this way; something _**big!**_ My mind barely registers the fact before it's on top of me; a flash of green eyes, a brush of silver and black fur, the briefest touch of claws, a gaping maw and it's gone. Dazed, I lie there on the ground and try to take stock of what had happened, and what I'd seen.

_Koda, what the heck was that?!_

_I have no idea; but whatever it was could have torn me to shreds if it wanted. I think it could take us all on at once and kill us all without even breaking a sweat._ Getting to my feet, I look in the direction it had taken; there were tracks headed into the clearing, but none heading out.

_That's a rather harsh assessment of our strength, Dakoda._

_Maybe, but I think it may be an understatement of theirs._

_

* * *

_

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	20. Revelation

*Disclaimer: I don't own anything originally from Twilight.

Thnx for all the awesomely awesome awesomeness reviews!!! Never thought I'd have 33! WOW! , thnx for the compliments, and I do plan on writing a book (:

Jason's POV

Note: this chapter is called 'Revelation' for a reason, lol (:

Read on!

**Chapter Nineteen**

_Our world has just been turned upside down and shaken like a snow-globe..._

"Are you _sure_ that's everything?" My dad asks Koda for the millionth time; I'm beginning to think he has OCD. My dad, that is, not Koda.

"I am _**one hundred percent** _positive Jake." Koda sighs; "If anything else comes to mind later, you'll be the first to know."

"Carlisle's back!" Alice exclaims, bursting through the door, "And he brought Tanya and them, too." In about a millisecond, we're all on our feet. "He did _**WHAT?!**_" Justin snarls, striding towards the front door, but Dakoda's already in front of him, blocking the way.

"Shouting at them won't do any good Justin; let Jake and them work it out." He's just like his father; a born peace-maker, but when the chips are down, he fights as ferociously as anyone else. Calmly, Jake heads outside to see what's up.

Carlisle _did_ start heading back down here when he heard about Fae, but then went back to Alaska once he heard that Fae was fine. Of course, that whole scenario was weird; somehow, I'm not surprised that he brought Tanya and them here. We need to find out what these things are; not that it would help much...

* * *

"So you still have no idea what it is?" Garret asks, looking incredulous,

"It's four legged, stronger and faster than any of us with powers we don't really understand; what more do we need to know? Having a name for it won't change anything." Chase points out.

"Maybe, but at least we would know what to look for."

"Simple: tracks that disappear, no scent of any kind, etc." I interject; "Unless they reveal themselves, I don't think we're going to get any further than we have."

"What about the two Keylocks; do you think they know anything?"

"They're as baffled as we are; we've watched them, talked to them... Fae was almost killed by whatever they are." Koda replies, seeming slightly irritated that they would imply that Fae and Trey had something to do with it; we know them too well. If something was going on, we would be able to tell. Wouldn't we?

"I'd like to talk to them; maybe-"

"Maybe what? We've talked them up one side and down the other; if they knew something, we would know."

"Still, it wouldn't hurt."

* * *

"Hey; what brings you guys here today? More questions?" Fae asks when she opens the door. "Come on in; might as well get it over with." Turning, she heads into the house, leaving the door open for us. Garret looks briefly at me, then goes on in.

"Were you expecting us?"

"Well, you all keep coming to ask more questions, and more questions, and more questions; it was only a matter of time before you came back to ask more questions."

"So, you don't know anything that we don't?"

"Look, I don't want this _**thing**_ running around La Push anymore than you do! I don't know what's going on!" Fae shouts, "Why won't you guys just _leave me alone!_"

* * *

_Did you see Garret this morning? He was practically frothing at the mouth!_ Mina chuckles darkly, _I guess he thought he'd get out and find one right off._

_Twenty-four hours of searching sure has been good for him; I haven't heard him try to tell us how to do things in a while._ Chris adds,

_Guys._ Koda cut in; _Less talk, more-_ Something huge dashes in front of us, forcing those in front to swerve to avoid collision.

_WHOA! Let's move people! _Kayleb exclaims, totally unfazed. Koda cocks his head, testing the air for scent and looking thoughtful.

_No Kayleb; this is a new development, we need to get back and-_

_This is the closest we've EVER been, and you want us to-_

_THINK BOY! No trace of anything, then BAM! It breezes by right in front of us! It __wanted__ to be seen, __wanted__ us to rush headlong after it! Do you have a death wish or something?_ He snaps, _We're heading back; and that's an order!_

_

* * *

_

"You sh-"

"We didn't include you in this meeting so that we could discuss what _you_ think should have been done; we included you so that you would know what's going on, and so that we could decide what to do next." Leah points out, "The question is, what are we going to do now, and how are we going to go about doing it?"

* * *

Green eyes watched as half of them left: with the pack and their vampire friends now divided into two groups, they would be at their mercy; their plan was working perfectly...

_Let's get this over with. I'm getting tired of these petty games..._

_

* * *

_

It appeared right after Jake, Leah, Seth, and the others left; we'd been left behind because they didn't want us 'in the line of fire', as they put it. We were looking in the direction they had taken when I felt someone's gaze burning into the back of my head. I turn to see a huge leopard, at least as big as Jake, if not bigger. It's not even thirty feet away, sitting back on it's haunches with its tail wrapped around its paws watching us calmly. On my left, I hear someone gasp, which means someone else has seen it. Still watching us, it lifts a paw and nonchalantly begins to wash its face, apparently waiting for us to get over the shock. The one thought that keeps running through my head, is that they left to try and pick up the trail and had ordered us to stay behind, but the real threat was here. Then, as if on cue, it stops, its paw still in the air, cocks its head, shakes itself off and gets to its feet. Giving us a meaningful look, it turns and starts walking away, only to stop and look back over its shoulder.

"Let's go!" Kayleb exclaims excitedly,

"How do we know that it's not-"

"-a trap. We don't, but if it had wanted to tear us apart, it would have already done so." I point out,

"Point taken; let's see what happens."

* * *

It starts out slow, but once it's sure we're following, it starts picking up speed until we're crashing through the forest, still in human form because we don't want to provoke a fight. Finally, it stops.

The meadow is quiet, the sun just barely showing through the clouds. Now that we have apparently reached our destination, the cat is impatient. Pacing back and forth in the middle of the meadow, its tail lashing, pausing ever so often to look off the the west, then resuming its restless movement. Waiting, but for what? Nervous, we stand in a group; vampire and wolf alike, waiting...

* * *

Eyes of gold glittered with suppressed laughter as he led them on a merry chase; teasing, taunting, and flaunting them as they tried to catch up. Amusedly, he felt her pacing restlessly even though they were miles apart. _Keep your fur on, I'll get there eventually._ He could feel impatience and annoyance radiating from her; he knew she was anxious about this, and had been for days.

Finally, he headed for the rendezvous.

* * *

Several hours of nerve-racking torment, of waiting for something that could be the end of us all. And all the pacing that it has been doing hasn't helped.

Suddenly, it stops and stares fixedly towards the sinking sun. Bursting from the trees, its coat a burning gold in the light of the setting sun, is the second 'thing' that's been plaguing us; an immense amount of rock-hard muscle and steel sinew, it bounds towards us, its feet barely seeming to touch the ground. Behind it, the pack bursts into the meadow and slams on the brakes, looking around in surprise.

_It's about time you got here._ With a start, I look at the leopard in confusion; did it just... talk? Or did it- _You know, you aren't the only ones that can speak through a mental connection; I can broadcast my thoughts at will._ Cold green eyes glare at each one of us in turn, then go back to the other; the tiger. _You have some explaining to do._ For several moments silence reigns, though it is obvious that the two cats are arguing back and forth. The contrast between the two is evident: the tiger stands quiet and relaxed while the leopard's tail lashes in irritation and it kneads the ground with its forepaws. How can two creatures that are so different cooperate? They're both cats, but that should make cooperation even less likely; cats are usually loners, with the exception of lions.

_A very interesting observation, Jason._ I snap out of my reverie to see gold eyes on mine, filling my vision. _But we aren't really cats._

"How do you know-"

_Don't __talk__, just __think__._ Fine then!

_How do you know my name?_

_Much better. We know your names because we've been watching you._ With those eyes on me, I feel as if it can read my every thought and memory; as if it can read me as easily as any book.

_Also, you're not very hard to read; quite easy in fact. And no, Bella, you're little 'skill' __gives you about as much protection as a breath of air; did you think that you were safe from us? You're the most pathetic thing ever; I don't even consider you intelligent._ I don't know how I can tell which is 'talking', but that just came from the leopard. Bella just stands there, her mouth hanging open.

"Enough of the smack-talk; why did you bring us here?" Koda interjects; both pairs of eyes, warm gold and cold green, turn to him. Only the green is no longer cold, but is watching Dakoda with something akin to amusement.

_We're here to talk._

_And to tell you who, and what, we are; as well as what we can do, and what we plan to do._ Eyes of emerald glare defiantly as the leopard takes a defensive stance.

_But of course, one thing at a time._ The tiger takes a step closer to the other, pressing against its side and draping its tail across her back.

"Alright then; who are you?" Justin asks, boldly taking a step closer. Musical laughter echoes through our thoughts as the leopard steps forward;

_I am, yet I am not; I have, yet I have not; I exist, but I am not alive. I am a mediator who can take no sides because I must keep the balance._

"That's nice, now how about giving us a straight answer? Or did you just bring us here to toy with us?" Justin's temper will be the death of him someday, not to mention the rest of us. But instead of being angry, they appear to be amused.

_You always did let your temper get the better of you._ Taking yet another step closer, its green eyes watch him speculatively, _And, after all the 'work' you guys have put into your searching, you deserve to know. _Abruptly, it pulls away and starts pacing, its tail lashing; _How can you live with yourselves? Knowing that you were meant only to kill, to destroy? Something that haunts a child's worse nightmares? _It whirls on us, its eyes wild; _HOW?!_ So confident, so powerful, yet insecure? Confused? Lost?

"Who are you?" I say softly to myself, wondering at the situation that we somehow landed ourselves in; out of the frying-pan and into the fire. _More like off the cliff and into the abyss. And by the way, I'm not an 'it'._ Surprised, I find myself lost in deep wells of emerald and instantly my mind is filled with images, _her_ memories.

"_No..._"

_Oh yes. Lovely kettle of fish, idn't it?_

_

* * *

_

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	21. Answers

*Disclaimer: you know the drill. I do not own Twilight. Which makes me happy!

YAY! I finally got it finished! Thank you Vera! I hereby dedicate this chapter to you!

btw, this is from Koda's POV...

Happy New Year!

Enjoy! :D

**Chapter Twenty**

_I tawt I saw a putty-tat! I did! I did! ......A **BIG** putty-tat!_

I watch in alarm as a look of absolute shock spreads itself over Jason's face, and then it's my turn to get steamrolled.

"_**Fae? **__What? How? I-_"

_ Can it Kyran, before I shut you up __**permanently. **_she snarls, eyes flashing. Throughout the clearing I hear exclamations as we all realize how completely we've been fooled.

"I _KNEW _it!" Garret shouts, shoving his way forward. "It could only be you!"

_ That's nice, Captain Obvious. I'm sure that it makes you all warm and fuzzy inside to know that __you__ singlehandedly masterminded the revelation of the unknown: the third element. Congratulations._

"Look, just because..." Everything sounds far away as I slowly try to sort through everything that I now know, as well as everything it implies.

"_Hey, Koda; you okay?_" Mina asks softly. "_You look rather dazed._"

"_Yeah, I'm fine, though maybe a bit dizzy._" I pause for a moment to clear my head before continuing. "_You know, this means we're going to have to re-think everything._" She nods in silent agreement, then freezes. I turn back to the others, alarmed, just in time to see Fae leap at Garret. It happened so fast that one moment Fae was in the air, the next, she was on the ground, with Trey standing over her. With an otherworldly snarl that seemed to shake the very earth, Fae twists free...

* * *

I don't think I've ever seen anything quite as... well, I don't think there are words to describe it, but it would be along the lines of '_**massive, intense, cataclysmal, colossal, monumental, imposing, epic, and intimidating**_'.It seemed as if the very elements were caught up in the conflict.

_** Yield! **_His jaws clamp tightly at the base of Fae's skull. Trey has managed to get a hold on her. Eyes alive with cold fury, she continues to writhe about in an attempt to break his hold, then finally relaxes. _You always were too stubborn for your own good._

He sighs as he slowly loosens his grip. Without any more warning than the flexing of claws and tensing of muscles, she twists and heaves, easily throwing Trey fifty yards.

_ And you were always too trusting. You should never let your guard down. _she replies passively, shaking her head in mock disgust. _Now, about- _She cut off abruptly when she noticed the obvious tension. _Why are you- Oooh! This is too good! _Baffled, we watch as she collapses into fits of laughter.

"What's so funny, Fae?" Chris queries, sounding a bit annoyed.

_ Did you guys really think we were fighting? _Lying on her side with her head twisted sideways, watching us, she definitely reminds one of a curious cat. Only, of course, quite a bit bigger and more intimidating.

With her laughter still echoing through our minds, she studies us for a moment, then starts shaking with renewed mirth. _You did!_

_ Fae, I think that's enough. _Interestingly enough, I think that's the first thing Jake's said since he reached the clearing.

_ Yeah, sorry about that. It's the stress. _she replies, getting to her feet and shaking off bits of grass and leaves.

"_STRESS! _We're the ones that have been-"

_ Chasing something that cannot be caught, I know. It was rather amusing actually._

"Maybe for _you!_" Bella bursts out. "You haven't been-"

_ Running around like an idiot chicken with its useless head cut off? No, of course not. _Her tone abruptly changes._**But I'm not the one that chose this! I didn't CHOSE to turn myself into an ABOMINATION! **_And just as abruptly as she starts, she stops. _But back to the business at hand, what do you want to know?_

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait." Leah interjects. "If it's genetic how come it wasn't evident before?"

_ But it was, just subconsciously. _Fae turns to Carlisle. _Remember how quickly I recovered from that concussion?_

"Yes, so you're saying that-"

_ Yeah, all the odd little things that didn't always make sense._

_ For example: we've never had a sick day in our lives. _Trey put in.

_ And we've always healed faster than most, but not instantly. Broken bones took only half the estimated time, gaping wounds didn't leave a scar... _Fae continues.

_ Not to mention our senses: sight, hearing, smell... they've always been above average._I really wish they would quit switching back and forth. It's rather disorienting.

_ As well as our amazing amount of intuition. Pop quizzes were never much of a surprise._

_ Oh, and our memory has always been pretty much perfect. Another reason why those quizzes never bothered us._

"So what brought the change?"

_ Say, that reminds me. Have any of you experimented with clothing? _Fae asks, looking around at us curiously.

And what exactly does Fae mean by that?

_ What she means is, have you ever tried to find something that would 'go with' you when you shift? AKA not get completely demolished when you go from human to wolf._

"No."

_ Why do you call it 'phase', anyway? Phasing is different: shape-shifters shapeshift, hence 'shift'. But that's besides the point._

"So what _is _the point?" I sigh, running my fingers through my hair.

_ Give me a moment to shift and I'll explain. _

"But-" Jason begins, but too late.

"What? Did you honestly think I would shift in front of you if I hadn't figured out the whole 'shredding your clothes when you shift' thing? Sheesh." Fae says, wearing absolutely normal blue jeans and a t-shirt. "Of course, it's probably different for me than it is for you." Standing next to Trey, she looks small and completely non-threatening.

_ We've come to the conclusion that what we are is somewhere between vampires and wolves; an intermediate of sorts._

"During our 'change' our cells reconstructed themselves."

_ Like with a vampire. And yet it was genetic, as with you wolves._

"But what brought it about? You've been around both vampires and wolves for extended periods of time with no 'side affects'; what happened?" Alice queries, looking puzzled.

"Who here remembers _**exactly **_what happened _**directly **_before everything went haywire?" Fae questions in turn, but her only answers are quizzical looks and shrugs. Sighing, she prompts:

"What about my collapse?"

"Wait... so... what?"

_** Think **__for a moment. What happened __**just**__ before she collapsed? _Trey put in. _Remember: she stepped in between Koda and Kyran and..._

Then everything falls into place.

"She was trying to force us apart!" Kyran blurts at the same time I say, "She touched both of us at the same time; skin on skin contact." I pause, my head spinning. "That means that-"

"_We _caused it." Kyran finishes for me, his face having the same mask of horror that must be on mine.

"But _why? _Why should it have taken both? With the wolves it's just-"

"But we're _**not**__wolves!_" Fae broke in. "We're something _**completely **_different! The longer you keep comparing, the longer this is going to take."

_ The sooner you let go of everything you know, the sooner you will begin to understand._

"You know, you're not making any sense!" Justin fumes, his voice reaching top volume by the end of the sentence.

Just as he's about to lose it, Fae steps forward and backhands him across the face. Shocked into temporary silence, he takes an involuntary step back. Fae follows him, closing what little space was between them.

"_I want you to forget everything you've ever known, everything you've ever thought._" She hisses, bringing all other conversation to a halt. "_Have you ever thought that your mere existence defied reason? That it defied all rational thought?_" Slowly, she begins walking around us, and her manner is such that I feel like I'm being stalked, like prey. "_That's because everything you've ever been taught is __**totally irrelevant.**_" As those last two words reverberate throughout the dark, still meadow, she fades from view in the pale moonlight.

* * *

_ Quit playing games, Fae; it's rude to tease them so mercilessly._

I have to agree with Trey; watching her do the impossible has been a bit agonizing.

"Okay, okay; jeez." Fae answers, her voice seeming to come from everywhere at the same time. "The one time I actually have fun being what I am, and you come along and tell me to quit." Each word seems to come from a different place, but with a sigh she snaps back into sight.

At the exact same place she disappeared from.

"You didn't even move, did you?" I groan.

"That's right." she replies with a lopsided grin. "Trey handled the illusion while I 'threw' my voice around."

"What all can you do?" Ren queries, curious.

For the most part, the vamps are silent and tense, while us wolves are open and more talkative. It makes sense though; after all, they thought they had the world to themselves until they ran into us. Having a new "unknown element" thrown in all of the sudden must be rather unpleasant.

Especially when they turn out to be as unpredictable and powerful as this.

_ Well... _Trey begins, but then trails off, looking abashed. With a sigh, Fae continues.

"So far we haven't really been able to find a... _limit_ on our capabilities. The more we look, the more we find."

_ But not all of them are easy; in fact, most take an immense amount of concentration._

"As well as energy. We wanted to find out as much as possible about ourselves before we talked to you all."

_ The illusion and ventriloquism are a few of the simplest and basic. Our main skills are more... **interesting**._

"What he _means _to say is that they're more impressive and intimidating and he wanted to show you something littler and simpler so that you'd have some idea of what to expect." Fae adds with a roll of her eyes. "Typical Trey behavior."

"Then quit beating around the bush; what can you do?" Justin interjects impatiently.

"We'll start with the basics, like the increases of natural abilities. Strength and speed, for example." She pauses for a moment and looks around. "Any volunteers for a demonstration?"

"Sure; I haven't had any sort of challenge in a while." Oh great; Emmett. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." Grinning, he steps forward as everyone starts backing away; no one wants to be close when they go at it.

"Good." Fae replies casually, hardly paying attention to him. "Rules of engagement. One: you have to stay in the circle-"

"What circle?" Emmett asks, puzzled.

"The one we're standing in." she answers dryly, indicating the wide circle that just sort of 'appeared'. "Two: in order to win, you have to hold your opponent down for five seconds. Carlisle, Ren, and Seth will be the judges."

"Is that all? I can do anything so long as I stay in the circle?" He asks, incredulous.

"Yup."

_ Fae, do you know what you're getting into? _Jake queries as he steps to the edge of the ring. _Don't underestimate-_

"I'm not underestimating anyone, JB; I'll be just fine." And with that, she drops into a crouch and lunges.

* * *

"Emmett, sorry, but you're kinda, um, not as good as you thought you were." Fae comments as she nimbly dodges him for what seems like the millionth time. Emmett had started slow, but had soon picked up the pace. Now they were both moving so quickly, so easily, that it looked more like a dance than a wrestling match.

"Then why-" he begins, lunging, "-haven't you been able to hold me down?" Just managing to catch a hold of Fae, he flips onto her back; the instant her back touches the ground, she tucks and rolls, landing a solid kick on his knee as she does so. With a grin, Fae hits him with a spinning kick that knocks him flying. In a matter of milliseconds, she has her knee in the small of his back, with his arm twisted around and his face in the dirt.

"You were saying?"

* * *

TA-DA!!!!

don't forget to hit the lovely REVIEW! button ;)


	22. Got Talent?

*Disclaimer: I'm happy enough owning Fae, Trey, and the rest of my OC's (: Stephanie can keep Twilight!

Okay, back to Fae's POV! Here we'll learn more of the capabilities that come with being a -for lack of an easier name- werecat (I fully acknowledge the fact that they are not true 'were' creatures, being unaffected by the full-moon... _However,_ I _will_ come up with a name shorter than 'shapeshifter cats') Things _should_ start coming together after this chapter, but we'll just have to see how things go... but yeah...

Enjoy :D

**Chapter Twenty-one**

_Nothing in life makes sense; it's not supposed to._

"Good job." I say, extending my hand to Emmett to help him to his feet.

"Says the girl that just took me down without even breaking a sweat." he replies testily. Ignoring my offered hand, he gets to his feet on his own.

"But you kept trying, and, against most people, you probably would have won." I point out.

_ I don't think it necessary, but if anyone wants a demonstration of speed, speak up. Otherwise, we'll get straight to the interesting and abnormal stuff. _Trey interjects, moving forward.

"I don't think it's necessary. If your strength has increased that much, I'm sure your speed has too." Leah says, rolling her eyes. "Though it would be interesting to compare the speeds of your phased and unphased forms."

I laugh sarcastically, then answer.

"Right. Now, about that, we actually have a sort of 'in between' shape." I say, brushing the hair out of my eyes, "Part cat, part human. Half-n-half."

"Seriously?" Alice asks, edging forward, unable to contain her curiosity.

"Yeah." I take a few steps back so that I'm out in front of everybody, then close my eyes and take a slow breath.

I can feel everyone's eyes on me. I feel their tension, their apprehension.

I feel the short, velvet fur ripple up my arms, and instantly, I can feel every little movement in the air, every little change in pressure. As my senses open up, my mind is flooded with new information. I can place everyone in the clearing, what their expressions are, and where they're standing, without even opening my eyes.

I can also feel their curiosity and wonder, and that's no surprise. I was rather shocked myself, the first time.

Short, silver fur with black rosettes covers me from head to toe, streaks of silver run through my hair. My hands are half-way between hands and paws, and, of course, the picture wouldn't be complete without my tail. I flex my claws experimentally and open my eyes. I can hear, feel, smell, and almost taste the surprise that spreads through the crowd of vamps and wolves in front of me. Out of all the changes, it's always my eyes that are the strangest.

They're cat's eyes, all the way down to the slitted pupils, and they're the same shade of deep emerald that I have when I'm fully shifted. They're actually rather creepy, especially when I'm still fully "human". The first time I saw myself like that, I screamed. I hate feeling like I'm something that I'm not, and seeing _those _eyes in _my _face...

_ That's fascinating... I wonder why we can't do that... _JB muses.

"As I mentioned before, we're a completely different species." I point out, again. "And our history is different."

_ Not that we know anything about ours... _Ken adds.

"But no matter what shape we assume, we still have all of our abilities." I say, making sure to enunciate clearly; it's hard to talk with a mouthful of canines. Not to mention that, since a cat's vocal chords can't do much more than a snarl, my voice is lower, with a gravelly tone. It almost sounds like I'm perpetually growling...

"Yes, please continue. This is getting interesting." Garret prompts. He's been rather silent for a while.

_ I control force. Kinetic energy, gravity, you get the picture. Any volunteers for a demonstration? _All Trey gets are blank looks and worried stares, which is fine by me. I was going to volunteer anyway.

"Trey, you know that I'm the only one allowed to have that much fun." Grinning from ear to ear, revealing my mouthful of razor-sharp teeth, I step forward. "Beam me up, Scotty." I say with a laugh, though it comes out as something more akin to a growl. The next thing I know, I'm flying upward.

* * *

Landing easily on my feet, I laugh out loud, the left-over exhilaration and adrenaline still buzzing through my veins. Falling upward _is _a rather novel sensation, after all.

I laugh even harder when I see the looks of shock and amazement on everyone's faces.

"What...?" Emmett trails off, looking baffled. He's not the only one - there's so many words flying around that if I weren't paying close attention, it would all sound like a bunch of gibberish.

"Could everyone just chill for a moment?" I cut in. As soon as everyone falls silent, I begin to answer the questions I feel being directed towards me. "What Trey just did is what I call a 'reversal', and, in this instance, he reversed gravity."

"So... you fell _up?!_" Kayleb exclaims. "Whoa!"

"Yup." I grin smugly. "It's even more fun when he warps it." I can feel JB looking at me intently, and I can feel the edges of his thoughts, but I choose to ignore him.

"Is there anything you _can't _do?" Is it just me, or is Bella just a _little _cross?

_ Well, we can't manipulate time, _Trey replies evenly, _or control the weather. _Several of them laugh at this, helping dispel some of the tension. There's still quite a few edgy people, though.

_ Ken, try and keep them laughing. _I 'whisper' to him. Mentally, of course. _Our little 'revelations' have practically knocked them flat._

_ Can do. _he replies.

"Still, there's a lot that you can do." Mina points out.

"Yeah," I agree, "and there's something I've been wanting to do, but never had the chance."

"Really? What?" Ren asks, curious. She's not the only one - pretty much everyone else is curious, too.

"Do you really want me to show you? It might be a bit alarming..." I let my voice trail of, looking around as if it's no big.

I can be so deceitful.

"Sure." That's all I need to hear. In the back of my mind, I can feel Ken recoil. _Kit, don't- _but it's too late.

Moving faster than thought, I feel a thrill of satisfaction as my fist connects, making a loud _crack _that echoes throughout the clearing.

"Now _that _is what I call satisfactory." I purr, looking down at Bella. "No offense, but you probably couldn't have done more to tick me off if you'd tried." I flex my fingers experimentally. "I feel a lot better now." No one makes a sound, but I can practically hear their brains trying to process what just happened.

Of course, Edward's the first to react. Even though he's slightly behind and to the left of me, I don't have to see him to know.

I _feel _it.

I turn, drawing back my fist and spreading out my claws, fully prepared to deflect his attack, only to find him suspended in mid-air.

"_Trey!_" I groan. "You know I wouldn't have hurt him, and Bella doesn't even have a scratch on her!"

_ I should have known you weren't ready for this, Fae. _I can feel Ken's disappointment, but he's not so much disappointed in me as he is in himself.

_ It's my fault, Trey, let me deal with it._

_ We came here for a peaceful talk, and here you are, knocking them down like nine-pins._

_ I knocked _**one **_down, and you know I had good reason. Now that it's over with, it'll be easier for me, and you know it._

_ You still aren't ready._

_ Then for _once _let _me _take the blame. It's my fault, not yours._

"Would you mind letting me down now?"

* * *

"So, no hard feelings?" I ask, extending my hand. Bella gives me a searching look, then takes my hand.

"I just wasn't expecting that."

"Yeah, neither was anyone else." I reply, trying to keep a straight face. "And please, in the future, don't try to tell me how I should be living my life."

"Oh..."

"I'll be with whomever I choose, and nothing anybody says will ever change my mind once I've decided something."

_ Which is why it took us sixteen years to get adopted. _Ken points out.

"I do have one question though." Edward interjects, "Which-"

"Trey." I reply quickly, cutting him off. "He stopped your forward movement, then kept you suspended. And if you had still tried to reach me, he would have immobilized you." Edward glances at Ken, taking it all in.

Silence falls over the clearing, and, turning my focus outward, I focus on the thoughts and feelings of those around me. See, I have a sort of 'second sight' that allows me to see beyond the physical. It's as if I'm connected by an infinite number of cords to everything and everyone around me, and when something is either directed toward me, or could even remotely affect me, I can feel it.

Kind of like when a bug lands in a spider's web...

What I find immediately snaps me back to the present.

"Why did you contact the Volturi?"

* * *

TA-DA!

Hehehehe! Cliffy! *evil grin*

Btw, I've decided to put it up to vote. Wait... put what up to vote... oh _yeah!_ That's right! I remember now! Here, let me start over.

*ahem*

So, any suggestions on what I can fall Fae & Trey? (besides 'werecats' or 'shapeshifter cats', or 'kitty twins with wicked mcawesome super powers', or- ... yeah, you get the idea.) and please, nothing ridiculous. I'm seriously serious seriousness about this.

I want to know what thou thinkest!

Now hit that lovely, happy button that says _**REVIEW**_ on it and tell me what you think!!!!!


	23. Let the Changes Begin

I know it's been WAAAAYYYY too long. For the longest time it wouldn't let me upload it, then we had internet trouble.... -.- but I got it! Yay me! :D

your patience w/ me is greatly appreciated ;)

**Chapter Twenty-two**

_Wonderful... just wonderful..._

"_**What?!"**_ Chris exclaims in disbelief, and, once again, everyone starts talking at once. Rolling my eyes heavenward, I fold my arms across my chest and slowly shift back to human – I want to be heard correctly the first time around, without having to repeat myself.

"One of you has contacted the Volturi." I state calmly. "If they want to reveal themselves, it's up to them. They did it out of concern, not malice, before they knew who and what we were."

"How can you know?" Mina asks softly, the rest having fallen silent.

They have so much to learn.

"I can tell what their real intent was, because..." I trail off, unsure of how to explain it.

_We _feel _it. It's not really something that can be explained. We just _know. Ken finishes for me.

"So you can tell when someone's lying? Or when they say something they don't mean?"

"Yeah." I answer casually; I can feel the tension ripple through the meadow. In the half-light of the waning moon, things seem surreal - faces are hidden in shadow, eyes dart about warily, and minds wonder if they can trust those around them.

We had known this could happen; it was one of the risks we were taking. It's instinctual to reject that which is different, to fear change and the unknown.

We were both.

And seemingly all-powerful.

They have every reason to think this through. Because once we get things going, there'll be no turning back...

* * *

"Why couldn't I see them?" Alice queries. I can feel her uncertainty in her voice - it's hard when what you rely on fails you.

"I think it has something to do with us." I reply. "So much was undecided at the time, so you could never get a clear picture."

"Oh..."

_ That, and the unpredictability of shape-shifters in general._ Ken adds. _Fae here has enough unpredictability for fifty people._ Typical Ken.

"Which we're going to need if we're going to pull this off." At this, everyone looks at me, puzzled.

"Oh, come of it! _Think!_ The Volturi are contacted about an unknown force that's running amok and has proven itself to be stronger, faster, and smarter than both 'werewolves' and vampires. Do you _really_ think that they're going to sit on their duffs and wait to see what's going to happen?" I pause to let it sink in. "What would you do if something turned up that could jeopardize your existence?"

"Try to find out as much as possible, then act." Garret replies

"It's been a while; they're on the move, or will be shortly." I state. We need this figured out now.

_ This is a chance to make themselves look big - they don't intend to fail. _Ken warns. _They're out for blood, to settle things once and for all._

"Where do you stand?"

* * *

_ Well, it looks like things are working in our favor. If we play our cards right, we'll come out on top._

_ Yeah, but then we'll have everything to lose, thus setting ourselves up as targets. Heck, we'll be targets anyway, once they even get a glimpse of our power._

_ They've had it easy for too long - let them reap what they've sown._

_ But then what are _we _sowing? And what shall we reap?_

_ Getting biblical on me now, are we?_

_ You're the one that started it._

_ Point taken._

_ ..._

_ How are we going to do this? Are we going to change the world? And take the fate of others into our own hands? We have no idea how things will turn out._

_ If we don't, who will? We started the ball rolling-_

_ -and are now subject to whatever happens because of it. How many of our friends will survive? Or will we have to watch them die, knowing that we played a part in it?_

_ Don't be so pessimistic._

_ I'm not being pessimistic, I'm just skeptical; you know it's the only thing that's kept me from being torn apart. And really, we _have _to acknowledge all the consequences, good or bad._

_ So long as we stick together, we'll make it through._

_ Ken..._

_ Yes?_

_ When this is over, what will we do? It's not like we can go back to the way things were before..._

_ We'll keep moving forward, just as we've always done before._

_ So long as you're here, I'll be fine._

* * *

We got started right away, since we didn't have any time to waste.

"First things first, you need to get used to the way we fight, and you also need to get used to working in sync, as a team, wolves and vamps together." Ken announces to the crowd in front of us.

None of them look very enthused, but they'll get used to the idea eventually.

"Look, it's either do or die. If you can't stand together and function as a team, then you might as well go join the Volturi." I add from my place beside Ken. There are a few murmurs, but no one objections.

"Alrighty then," Ken begins again, "first we'll split you into groups." When some of them automatically start gravitating towards their usual fighting groups, I cut them off.

"Not so fast!" As I speak, I sort them into groups in my mind. "You _will_ learn to fight equally well with _each and every_ person here."

"Why can't we wait until we get used to this first, then divide differently?" Kayleb queries. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

"No, not really, you'd just have a harder time adjusting later on." I state. "You're divvying up _now_." I give things a little bit of a _push_ with my mind, then view the reactions to my handiwork with a smirk.

You see, I have just rearranged everyone into different groups _with my mind._ Pretty cool, right?

You should have seen the looks on their faces.

_ Priceless!_

_

* * *

_

"_What_ did you just do?" Justin demands, looking somewhat shaken.

"No one need move from their current positions - the people currently within close proximity to your persons are the members of your group. We'll change things up as we see fit." I say, ignoring his question.

"As _you_ see fit?" J.B. asks quietly, giving me a curious, direct look.

"If you don't think it doesn't work and haven't seen any improvement in a day or two, feel free to make suggestions, but let's try it our way first." I reply shortly, shrugging. "But I think you'll see a difference."

"Does that sound okay with everyone?" Ken asks, opening the subject to everyone. A few nod warily, but since J.B., Carlisle, and the rest of the "commandos" seem okay with it, no one objects.

We'll see how long that lasts.

"We're going to start simple, but by the time we're through, we'll be a force to be reckoned with."

_ And maybe, just maybe, we'll have half a chance._

_

* * *

_**What says you?**

**_REVIEW!!! (:_**


	24. In Which Fae Gives a Demonstration

*Disclaimer: I obviously not SM, so I obviously don't own Twilight and the characters associated with it.

Hi again! College life doesn't allow for a whole lot down time for working on stories, or posting new chapters, but I took some time out this morning ;)

Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-three**

_ If they would work harder and smarter, it'd be easy... but they're not. They're working easy, which makes it hard._

"Look! This isn't working! We need to do something different!"

"Your way hasn't worked, let's try _ours_!"

"If you would just..."

_ Blah, blah, blah. I'm beginning to wonder if they're even capable of intelligent conversation or presenting a good, reasonable argument._

_ Kit, we _are _asking a lot more of them than anyone else ever has. Have some patience. _Ken reprimands.

_ I did, but their whining used it all up. _I retort – I really am sick of all this, _they just need to suck it up and get over it. Maybe then we'll get somewhere..._

"Hey! Aren't you listening to us?"

"Listening to what?" I snap – time for a wake-up call. "To the same broken record complaints? _**Puh-lease.**_ Tell you what, _**SHUT UP**_ and _**GET TO WORK!**_"

Everyone looks a bit taken aback by my out-burst, which is nothing compared to what I used to do. If they had known me when I was still being shuffled from family to family like a stray dog...

"Did it ever occur to you that the very reason you're not progressing is because you're focusing on how things were in the past and how you want them to be now? _**You**_ are standing in your _**own**_ way! Suck it up and do the best with what you have!" Without waiting to see how they react, I pull a few strings and am immediately in a completely different place – right now, I need some distance.

Ever since this began, my emotions have been in constant upheaval, and when things get tense, something inside me reacts.

Violently.

I'm pretty sure it's connected to the cat; the one inside of me, I mean. When I shift, more than just my senses and perceptions change – my entire being does. I find myself thinking things differently.

Much differently.

Quite often purely animalistic.

That same feeling is trying to pull me back to our little "training arena."

And tear them all apart.

Into very little pieces.

Yeah... not good.

* * *

_There you are._ Ken says softly as he carefully works his way up the cliff face.

_ You knew I was here – where else would I go?_ I answer, mostly to myself. I carefully re-adjust to make room for him. _It's such a nifty little niche._

_ Oh yes, such a nifty niche._ He replies, laughing quietly to himself.

I found it when I was exploring the area – and causing mayhem for the La Pushians - a concealed ledge near the top of a nearby mountain. Impossible to approach unseen, and completely inaccessible except for the one and only way up or down: a hair-raising climb that is next to impossible to make.

Especially if you don't have supernatural speed, strength, power, and balance.

_ Feeling out of sorts again?_ He queries.

_ Isn't it obvious?_ I sigh, tucking myself into a ball and draping my tail over my face.

_ Don't hide._ He reprimands gently as he lays down next to me and casually places his paw on my head – sort of a comforting gesture that's meant to be annoying.

_ Goober._ I retort, pulling away and batting at him playfully. _Quit being such a guy._

_ Then quit hiding._ He replies flatly, refusing to let me lighten the moment or change the topic. _You're strong enough to face it, you don't have to run._

_ No. No I'm not. _I say so softly that even though it's a thought, he can barely hear it. _I can't._

_ You _could _if you wanted to! Why do you insist on being weak? _He snaps, bristling. _I'm not your personal crutch!_

_ What? _I exclaim, recoiling – he's never spoken to me like this before. He usually is quiet and understanding. What happened?

Why do I feel like I don't know him any more?

_ You _know _what I'm talking about! You run when things get rough, you shut everything out when you get hurt – hiding your head in the sand isn't going to solve anything!_ He shoots back, _I'm not your emotional crutch! One day I might not be here: what then? How will you make it?_ Pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts, he continues. _I want to _know _that you are strong enough to make it on your own, no matter what. Now that everything's on the line, anything could happen, and I don't want you to fall apart – I need you. And they need you too, no matter how much they think they don't._ Alarmed by his outburst, I've flattened myself against the cliff face, ears plastered to my head, trying to organize my thoughts.

Am I really like that? I had always thought I was pretty strong: I had my system, my own way of dealing with things. Was I wrong?

* * *

"About time you got back." Garrett grumbles.

"Sorry, but I didn't think you'd want to be torn apart by an extremely irate kitty-cat." I sass back, casually leaning against a tree. "Any progress?"

"Of course _not!_ How could there be?" Justin explodes as Garrett says "As _if_ you could tear us all apart! We outnumber you!" Coolly, I stand erect, looking around at the entire group.

"So, you really think you could take me on?"

"Sure we could – it's not as if we're defenseless!" Justin retorts angrily.

"Alright." I respond quietly, nodding my head as I finish thinking this thing through. "Get into your-"

"Wait. Let _us_ choose our own teammates and we'll show you how much better we do." Jason cuts in.

This could turn out to be a very good demonstration.

"So be it."

_ Are you _sure _you know what you're doing?_ Ken queries worriedly.

_ Yes. _I reply, mentally rolling my eyes. _I'm not going to hurt them, just give them a lesson._

_ What? 'Listen to the cat and no one gets hurt'?_

Smiling to myself, I give the obvious answer. _Yeah, something like that._ Turning to the others, I see them divvied up into their usual groups.

Of course.

"Are you ready?" I ask, still human – I want them lulled into a false sense of security. If they think I'm any less dangerous with only two legs instead of four, they're dead wrong.

Literally.

And I mean that in the best way possible.

_ You bet._ Justin replies, lowering himself into a crouch, all set to spring.

"Game on."

* * *

They came in a rush, trying to catch me off my guard I suppose.

As if I ever let it down.

The wolves, being larger, were at the back, so the vamps took the brunt of my attack. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Garrett just so happen to reach me first. As they collide with each other, I laugh, making sure it echoes throughout the clearing. Surprised, the others check their headlong rush.

You see, I'm still standing in the exact same place – I haven't moved – so how did the first four run into each other?

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongues?" I taunt, "ready or not, here I come." With a snarl, I launch myself toward the biggest threats before they have any time to figure out what happened. We're playing by the same rules we use during practice: once you've been knocked down you're out. Simple, straightforward, and keeps them on their toes.

The first two to go down are Jason and Lilia – Jason can become intangible, or "phase-out" as I call it, and Lilia can teleport for short distances and is hard to pin down.

They also share a connection that they don't even know they have yet.

Koda's next, followed by Seth, J.B., Carlisle, and Tanya – with the leaders out of action, it'll be easier to take out the rest.

As if it weren't easy enough already.

I slow down and stop outside of their respective groups, making sure they all see me before continuing.

"Is this all you've got? I thought you said you'd do _better_ in your own groups, not _worse_." I say, baiting them carefully. "Honestly, it's how many against one?"

Leah, quick as thought, reacts before any of the others. In a single lunge, she's on me – for a moment, the rest think I'm down.

But not for long.

Leah catches on quick though, and before I can take her out, she lets the others know what exactly is going on. _She can go intangible, like Jason! _And just as she finishes that thought, I phase-in and take her down.

"Ready or not, here I come." I purr again, taking several slow steps forward as I shift, making sure they see every detail as the cat within emerges. _Let's get down to business..._

* * *

**REVIEW!**


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